


Aaron Tveit Goes to Ithaca

by FieryRedheadedGoddess



Category: Broadway RPF
Genre: Broadway, rent - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 33,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6667615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FieryRedheadedGoddess/pseuds/FieryRedheadedGoddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emory Rosen has loved Aaron Tveit all her life. What happens when he literally bumps into her on the campus of both of their alma maters and gives her the opportunity to live out the dream that she never thought possible?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you need to imagine the characters, these are the people I imagined playing these characters in my head:  
> Dani- Krysta Rodriguez  
> Jacob- Andy Mientus

“Emory, did you hear?”  
“Hear what?” I asked, chewing on my meatball sub in the dining hall. I was in the middle of pouring through my script one last time before my analytical test next period. I was ferociously scribbling notes, in addition to reviewing the ones I already had.  
“Aaron Tveit is coming back to Ithaca to speak in Farlow’s acting classes.”  
My head shot up. My concentration had died away and my focus was now solely on Dani. “You’re joking.” My face was straight. “Where did you hear that?”  
“From Jacob. He’s in Farlow’s Acting IV class.”  
“But he said Aaron’s coming into all of Farlow’s classes?” I was rushing to finish my meatball sub. My next class was at 12:20 and I need at least fifteen minutes to get to the lecture hall.  
“Yeah, that’s what he said. He had Farlow this morning.”  
“I have Farlow next. I wonder if he’ll tell us.”  
“You’ll have to tell me how dreamy Aaron is in person.”  
I smiled, weakly. “If I’m still alive.” I winked at her, picking up both my books and the remainder of my sub. I chucked the remnants of my lunch in the trash, waved good-bye to Dani, and hurried out of the dining hall.  
I shoved my script and my notes into my messenger bag and scampered across the quad. I ran into a few people I knew but I only said a quick hello. I reached the lecture hall ten minutes before class started and I set all my stuff down at a seat. I went over my notes one last time in my head.  
As soon as the clock hit 12:20, Mr. Farlow handed out our analysis tests and we began. I scribbled rapidly until the class was over. As the clock struck 1:50, I left my paper on my desk to be collected and ran up to the front of the room to ask Mr. Farlow about Aaron before he left for the day.  
“Mr. Farlow?” He looked up from packing his bag. “I had a question for you.” He look unpleased. “It’s quick, I promise. I heard a rumor…”  
“You should never listen to rumors, Miss Rosen.”  
“I heard that Aaron Tveit is coming to speak in our class.” Mr. Farlow had finished packing his bag by now.  
“Yes, he will be here tomorrow. He will instruct you for the next two classes before he goes to rehearse for RENT.”  
As I restrained myself from squealing, I thanked Mr. Farlow and exited the classroom. I was finished with classes for the day so I went straight to my dorm room. I would have Musical Theater III tomorrow with Aaron Tveit as my instructor.  
When I reached the dormitory that I shared with Dani, she and Jacob were inside watching the Hollywood Bowl performance of RENT from 2010. Until the revival, this was the last time RENT had been performed professionally. I dropped my stuff and Dani immediately asked how class went.  
“Good,” I smiled. “Aaron’s going to be there tomorrow.”  
“You guys are so lucky,” she whined. “I wish Aaron Tveit was teaching me how to act.” I stuck my tongue out at her as she reminded me that I had promised to go grocery shopping after my class this afternoon.  
“Okay,” I sighed. I told Dani she could give me money when I got back after I knew how much our food for the week had cost. I grabbed my purse and my car keys and headed out for the afternoon.  
I pulled the list out of my pocket to see what we needed as I slid into my car. I stuck the keys in the ignition and read through the list. Laundry detergent, tampons, water bottles, Triscuits, peanut butter, bananas, seltzer, Teddy Grahams, and Goldfish. Staples of our diet.  
I put my purse and the list in the passenger seat and started the car. It was a three minute drive to Manley’s Mighty Market. When I arrived, I got all my stuff and went inside. This was where I shopped most of my time at Ithaca so I knew my way around pretty well. That is until I went to round a corner and ran smack dab into the man on the other side.  
I fell to the ground, bracing my fall with my butt and the palms of my hands. The floor felt harder than it ever had before. All of the items I had been holding in my arms fell to the ground. I gathered them all before I noticed a hand outstretched towards me. My eyes wandered up his strong arm until his face came into view and a mortified look crossed my blushing face.  
I let him help me up and he shook my hand, saying, “I’m Aaron.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m Emory.” My voice sounded disconnected from my body, like it was floating.  
“I’m really sorry for running into you like that. Are you okay?”  
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Wow. You’re Aaron Tveit.”  
His smile lit up the room and I couldn’t help but smiling with him. “It’s really nice to meet you, Emory. Here, let me pay for your stuff for you.”  
“No, that’s really okay. I haven’t even finished shopping yet.”  
“Please. I insist. It’s the least I can do.”  
Reluctantly, I agreed and finished acquiring all the items on my list. I went up to the register with Aaron and let him purchase what Dani and I needed. “Thank you so much for doing this. It’s very sweet of you.” He even helped me put everything in my car. Suddenly, I had a surge of confidence that was very unlike me, especially in situations such as these. “I don’t know if you have plans or not, or if you would even want to, but would you be interested in going to get something to eat?”  
I felt my knees going weak beneath me but somehow I managed to stay upright as Aaron looked at his watch, telling me that would be great.  
“I’ll drive,” I offered, since we were already right next to my car. “I’ll just drop you off here on my way back to campus.”  
“You go to Ithaca?” I nodded, as I got into the driver’s seat and Aaron sat shotgun. “I went to Ithaca,” Aaron informed me.   
“I know,” I smiled, goofily, trying not to sound like a know-it-all.  
“I’m actually guest-speaking at a couple classes there this week.”  
“I, also, knew that. I’m in Musical Theater III with Farlow.”  
“Well, aren’t you a smarty-pants?” Aaron teased me but I hardly minded.   
I turned on the radio as I drove. I began to sing along with the radio without remembering that I had company in the car. It was so natural to me to belt out whatever came on that I forgot that my passenger might not enjoy that as much as I did.   
As soon as I realized that I had been singing, I apologized but Aaron urged me to continue. After a few bars, he joined in, harmonizing with me. Our voices melded together, sounding like lovers who had known each other their whole lives but just realized how they felt about each other now.  
When the song finished, Aaron applauded but I couldn’t since my hands were on the steering wheel. That didn’t keep a grin from spreading across my face as I said, “That was amazing.”  
“I agree,” he told me, as we neared the mall. After I parked my yellow bug, we decided to go to Smart Yogurt and get fro-yo. I raved about the home-made frozen yogurt as we went inside. It was one of the make-your-own places so I grabbed a bowl and started assembling my dish.  
After we were finished compiling our dishes, I begged Aaron to let me pay until he finally agreed. We found a seat at one of the tables and sat down across from each other.   
“Let’s play the question game to get to know each other,” Aaron suggested.   
I raised an eyebrow. “The question game?”  
“Yeah, it’s like Truth or Dare without the Dare. Just answer the question truthfully.” I gave him a nervous. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask anything too personal.”  
I gave a weak smile. “Okay, then. You ask first.”  
He nodded. “Where did you grow up?”  
“Goshen, New York.”  
“No kidding,” Aaron exclaimed. “I grew up like fifteen minutes from there.”  
“Oh really? Where?”  
“Middletown, actually.”  
“No way!” We both laughed and I tapped my finger, trying to come up with a question. “You weren’t at that powder-puff football game in, God, what was it, 2001, were you?”  
Aaron covered his face with his hands but I could still see his face turn red behind them. “Oh god, I thought I escaped that.”  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I was only eight so it’s not like I really remember it anyway. I just figured that was around the time you were in high school.”  
“No, it’s fine,” he laughed. “I just didn’t keep in touch with many people who were there that day.”  
“Because they saw you like that?”  
“God, no.” He chuckled and then continued, “I just think that I’m a different person than I was back at Middletown.”  
“I would say so.”   
He just smiled at me. We continued asking random questions until we had both finished our frozen yogurt.   
“It was really nice getting to know you, Emory.”  
“You, too. Somewhat surreal but very enjoyable.” I smiled, opening the door for both of us.   
“Why surreal?”  
“Did you really just ask me that?” I scoffed. When I realized he was serious, I gave him an answer. “Since I was thirteen, I dreamt of being on Broadway and going to Ithaca. Then you went to Ithaca and now you’re going to play Roger in RENT, which is basically my dream show. And then I physically ran into you and you wanted to pay for my groceries and take me out for ice cream and I feel like I’m dreaming.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“No, no, no. It’s perfect. It’s amazing. It’s just going to take me a while to come down from this high later.”  
Aaron just laughed at me. “Okay, then.”  
“I’m good.” I gave him a thumbs up as we reached my punchbuggy.  
“Okay. I’ll take your word for it. You seem just a tad starstruck.”  
“Who meets you that isn’t starstruck? I am standing in front of the guy who is playing Roger in RENT. You sing Thong Song in the shower and your go-to karaoke song is Jessie’s Girl. You dressed up as a drag cheerleader when you were in high school. You have the voice of freaking angels. And you have perfect hair.” He was blushing by the time I finished and so was I. “I can’t believe I just said all that. Can we just get in and pretend that never happened?”  
Aaron shook his head. “I am never going to forget the sweetest thing anyone ever said to me.”  
I covered my face with my hands. “I highly doubt that that was the sweetest thing anyone ever told you. My starstruck rant was unorchestrated and I was rambling. Give me a break.”  
“I’m serious!” He laughed, holding his hands up.   
“Can we just go?” I got into the driver’s seat and shutting the door, crossing my arms and resting my head on the steering wheel. I heard Aaron climb in next to me.  
“Why are you so embarrassed?”  
“Cause I feel like you’re flattering me and it’s working.”  
He chuckled to himself. “And that’s not what you were doing earlier?”  
“I wasn’t trying to! My mouth opened and everything amazing about you spilled out!” I looked up at him, confused about what I was actually feeling right now.   
He just smiled at me. “We can go if you want to.”  
“You’re such a tease!” I raised my voice, only half-joking.   
He just raised his eyebrows at me. “Flirt…”  
“Tease!” I groaned and yanked the car into drive. Aaron smirked to himself and I smashed my hand against the power button for the radio, cranking the Wicked CD that I had in.   
We didn’t say another word to each other until I pulled into Manley’s. Aaron turned off my CD and turned towards me. I grudgingly looked to him as well. He grabbed my hand in his.  
“I had a very lovely time with you today. I loved hearing all of your stories. I loved when you began rambling about everything amazing about me. I love that you’re still mad at me. And finally, I will love when I see you in class tomorrow. I hope I made it easier to come down off your high.”  
Aaron winked at me and got out of my buggy, lightly shutting the door behind him. I shook my head, taking a deep breath. He definitely wasn’t making it any easier. I chuckled to myself and drove home.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as I got in, Dani was asking questions. “Where were you? Did you go somewhere other than the grocery store? What took you so long?”  
I sat her down and started putting the groceries away in our mini-fridge. “I just ran into someone and we went out for frozen yogurt.”  
“Ooh, a guy someone?”  
“Yep.” I smiled, mischievously. I knew it was mean to tease her like this but I couldn’t help it.  
“Do I know him?”  
“You know of him,” I giggled behind the refrigerator door.  
“C’mon. Just tell me!”  
“I kind of ran into Aaron Tveit at Manley’s and then we went out for frozen yogurt.” By the end of the sentence I was yelling and running my words together.  
“What? Was he amazing and hot? Was he nice? Did he sing for you?” Her questions kept coming and I tried to answer all of them but that turned out to be quite difficult.   
“Ugh. He called me a flirt. Like, I’m pretty sure that’s just my personality because my brain was too scrambling to actually try to flirt with him.”  
“What did you say back?”  
“I called him a tease.”  
“You didn’t! Em, you’re so mean!”  
“He was mean to me first.” I pouted and covered my face with a pillow. “And now I have to see him tomorrow and get this, the last thing he said to me: ‘I love that you’re still mad at me and I’ll love when I see you in class tomorrow.’ Who says that?”  
“Hmm, maybe he is a tease but you didn’t have to tell him that.”  
I groaned, laying back on my bed. I had an immensely difficult time sleeping that night. Everytime I shut my eyes I had dreams about Aaron and him teaching me in class.  
I shook my head, groggily when my alarm went off at 7:00. I had composition at eight but I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus. I got ready, looking nice since I had missed the mark yesterday with Aaron.   
I put on a button up shirt with a fancy sweater on top. I wore jeans on the bottom and knee high boots with leg warmers above them. I slid a beanie on and slipped out the door since Dani didn’t have a class until noon.   
The whole time I was in composition my eyes kept slipping away from my keyboard to look at the clock. Composition ended at 10:00 so I went to the library to study for the Shakespearean English test I had tomorrow.   
I was pulling out my notes when I felt warm hands wrap around my eyes. My mind scrambled to try to figure out who it was. Definitely a guy. My heart sped up as he let go and I saw Aaron’s smiling face in front of me.   
I took a deep breath. “What are you doing here?”  
“I just got out of Acting IV. I saw you come in here and I wanted to say hi. Also, I was wondering if you wanted to grab an early lunch since class starts in about two hours,” he told me looking at his watch. I just raised my eyebrows at him. “What do you think that people are going to worry I’m playing favorites or something or are you still mad at me?” I sighed. “C’mon. I’ve been dying to see you every since you dropped me off at Manley’s. Please?”  
“You’ve been dying to see me?” I bit my lip a little.  
“I know. Who’s the flirt now?”  
“Still a tease,” I quipped.  
“Please just let me take you out to lunch.”  
“Fine.” I started picking up my stuff and when it was all together, I let Aaron lead me out of the library. He drove me to one of Dani and Jacob’s favorite restaurants, Fat Jack’s BBQ. I had always wanted to go but I had never been until Aaron brought me.   
We both ordered burgers and then began talking once the order was placed.   
“I freaking love french fries,” Aaron told me as the waitress walked away.  
I smiled at him, stirring my soda up with my straw for no reason. “So why is it that you were dying to see me?”  
“Oh, we’re back on that again? I told you I don’t really know. I guess you just made an impression.”  
“Hmm, okay. I’ll take it.”  
He laughed. “What do you mean you’ll take it? I’m telling the truth.”  
“Okay,” I grinned.   
Soon enough, our burgers were up and we dug in. I sunk my teeth into my Roadhouse burger as Aaron chomped away on his french fries.   
When we finished, I grabbed the check. Aaron said, “No. I invited you. Let me pay.” He tried to take the check out of my hand but I pulled it out of his reach.   
“If you let me pay this time, you have an excuse to bring me out next time so that you can pay,” I pointed out.   
He raised his hands in defeat and let me get the bill. It was still chilly when we stepped into the February air. I shivered quickly and then Aaron replied in the cliche way that everyone expects. He slipped his jacket around my shoulders and I stuck my arms through the sleeves. I got into the passenger seat of Aaron’s car and we sang all the way back to Ithaca. We were early for Farlow’s class so we just sat in his car for a little bit.   
“I remembered why I was dying to see you.”   
I raised my eyebrows. “Go on.”  
“You don’t treat me like I’m standing on a pedestal, like everyone else here. You give me a hard time as if you knew me before I was famous.”  
“Technically, I did, but I’m not sure we should count powder-puff football as an introduction.”  
“No, I just meant. You’re above it, well, maybe that’s not the right word for it and it’s not that you don’t care. You just don’t let it get to you.”  
“I don’t know. I don’t feel that way.”  
“You called me a tease.”  
“Only after I rambled about how amazing you were!”  
“Would you still think I was amazing if I wasn’t cast in RENT?”  
“Of course.”  
“That’s what I mean!” Aaron said. “You don’t like me because I’m famous. You like me in spite of it.”  
“Well, we should go. It’s almost time for class.”  
Aaron sighed as if he had something important to tell me but now wasn’t the time. We both got out of the car and hurried towards Farlow’s class. When we got to the door, I grabbed his arm. “Wait.” I handed him his jacket.   
“You can keep it…”  
“No. It’s okay.” He carried his jacket in one hand and opened the door with the other. I slid in under his arm and took my normal seat as I watched Aaron go up and greet Farlow.


	4. Chapter 4

When class started, Farlow introduced Aaron and everyone started cheering but Aaron looked at me and flashed me his gorgeous grin. He waved to everyone. “Hey, guys. It’s really great to be here. As you might know, I’m going to be in the Broadway revival of RENT in a few months as Roger. I wanted to show you a little bit of what I’ll get to do every night. It’s a great show. Then I was thinking after we did RENT that we could do a little Wicked because I was in Wicked too and I hear Farlow’s going to bring you to go see it.  
“So first, I’ll take someone to be Mimi and come up here to almost die. Sorry, you don’t get to do anything but you get to be onstage with me so that should be enough.” I chuckled as hands shot up. I didn’t put my hand up because I wanted to do the scene from Wicked with him. I watched Aaron’s eyes fall over me and pick a volunteer. I groaned, inwardly, when I watched Sarina Brooks climb up to the front with Aaron. Farlow placed a chair center stage for her to die in.   
Aaron began, “I lied. What’s your name?”  
“Sarina,” the fake-blonde said.   
“Sarina, that’s pretty. I lied. You get to say, ‘I should tell you… I love you…” and then you die, okay?”  
She nodded much too enthusiastically then she went for it. Farlow played the soundtrack in the background and Sarina sang her one line along with it. Then Aaron started in with Roger’s part and then “Your Eyes”. Aaron had tears in his eyes as he sang and by the end, there were tears in mine as well. When he finished, Aaron took Sarina’s hand in his and they bowed together. I cheered for them even though I wasn’t Sarina’s biggest fan.   
“Thank you, Sarina. You made a great dying Mimi. Now,” he turned back to the audience. “Who knows the song ‘As Long As You’re Mine’?” My hand shot up. It was one of my favorites from Wicked. Plenty of other hands when up but Aaron still picked me. When I got up to the stage, he whispered in my ear, “I was hoping you would volunteer for this one.”  
Farlow looked at both of us and said, “Okay, Emory. I want you to give as much as Aaron gives to this performance. I want you to feed off of each other. Sarina didn’t really get that chance but this is perfect. Aaron, are you going to do the kisses?”  
“Well, I don’t…”  
“I think you should,” Farlow suggested. “It’s in the script. You’re fine with that, Emory, right?”  
“Um, sure. Whatever.” I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest.  
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Aaron whispered to me. “You look like you’re going to throw up.”  
“I’m good,” I half-smiled. “Just a little stage fright, that’s all.”  
“Breath, smile, and just do it. Pretend it’s just you and me in the car, just like yesterday, except this time with acting too.”  
“And kissing,” I mumbled but I don’t think Aaron heard what I said. Either that or he was just ignoring it.  
Farlow put on the karaoke version of “As Long As You’re Mine” and I let the song take me away. I began to hum as Aaron and I sat on the ground, just as they do in the videos that I had seen. I sang the first verse and all the nerves went away. Everything seemed almost natural from then on. I let Aaron lead the movements. Even while I had been singing, he had held my hands and kissed them, even at one point putting them up to his face. I remembered what Farlow had said and I put all of myself into the song.  
Just before Aaron began to sing, he pulled me in and kissed me. I heard gasps from the audience who clearly hadn’t heard our conversation with Farlow. As Aaron sang, I had to try less and less to actually act. His voice carried the song so well. When we began singing together, I was again shocked by how well they melded together. I felt Aaron’s hands on my hips through my sweater and my heart raced. There was also plenty of adrenaline from performing running through me at that point. I leaned back as I saw Idina do in the video and Aaron held me by the waist as if we had practiced this a million times.   
When we got to the end of the song, I let Aaron kiss me but then I pulled away.   
“What is it?” Aaron asked me and for a second, I forgot he was Fiyero.  
“Nothing. It’s just…” I paused dramatically. “For the first time, I feel…” I looked out to the audience and whispered, “wicked.”  
Everyone was clapping by the time we finished and some people were even standing. Farlow looked very proud as he gave me a thumbs up. My breathing still hadn’t slowed yet. Aaron was wrapping his arm around my waist and we bowed together.   
When I got back to my seat, the girl behind me, who I had never talked to before, leaned in to my ear and said, “Good job.” I smiled back at her and thanked her.   
The rest of the class went really well and Aaron yelled to me and asked me stay after to wait for him. I went up behind him while he was talking to Farlow.   
“Farlow, we have to get her auditioning somewhere. You saw her performance. She was amazing.”  
“I don’t have anywhere that’s looking. What about RENT?”  
I’m pretty sure neither of them realized I was listening.  
“I’ll do my best.” Aaron turned and almost ran into me. “Hey, we were just talking about you.”  
“I heard… You don’t have to get me in anywhere. I mean, don’t. I’m not good enough for Broadway.”  
“Yes. You are.” He put his hands on my arms. “You killed that performance.”  
“Aaron,” my voice harshened. “Don’t.” I took a deep breath and turned. “I’ll wait outside.”  
I pushed open the doors and immediately wished that I had told him I would wait inside. I was trying to warm up as I heard voices around the fountain. I looked over and saw Sarina talking to a group of other girls from our class.  
“Whatever. They’re probably screwing each other. Like I could care. If he’s screwing her, then why would I even want him?”  
Tears filled in my eyes and they felt like ice as I turned the other way and started to leave, even though I told Aaron I would wait. Unfortunately for me, he came out just then and yelled my name as he saw me heading away. “Emory, wait!” I heard his shouts but I kept going until he finally ran up to me. Tears were running down my faces viciously as I looked up at Aaron. “Em, what is wrong?”  
“You need to go. Sarina’s telling everyone that we’re having sex now.”  
“So? People are going to say crap. You’re about to be famous.”  
“No. I’m not going to be famous. I’m not majoring in Musical Theater. I’m not meant to be in the spotlight. I’m not a star. And I don’t want anything from you because then people won’t think I earned it by hard work. They’ll think I earning it by fucking you. I worked too hard to become the girl who slept her way to the top.”  
“Jesus, Emory. You’re going to let one girl get in your way of possibly being on Broadway in your dream show. Give me a break.”  
“Just go. I can’t deal with this.”  
“I am giving you an opportunity to do something you love!”  
“Maybe I don’t deserve it! Leave, Aaron. I’m done.”  
“No, you’re not.” I tried to walk away but he grabbed my arm. “Do you know how many times I thought that I was done or that I wasn’t good enough but now look at where I am. I’m the guy who is going to be on Broadway in RENT. I sing Thong Song in the shower and my go-to karaoke song is Jessie’s Girl. I dressed up as a drag cheerleader when I was in high school. I apparently have the voice of angels. And I have perfect hair.” He quoted everything that I had said to him yesterday and the tears ran faster.   
“I can’t.”  
“Yes, you can. At least, let me make the call.”  
I nodded silently as Aaron wrapped his arms around me. And he just held me like that in the middle of campus as it started to snow. I had my eyes closed and I was facing Aaron’s chest so I didn’t notice until he whispered in my ear, “And it’s beginning to snow,” just the way that it goes in RENT.  
I laughed at him and let him wipe the tears away from my eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Will you walk me back to my dorm?”  
“So now you want people to think we’re sleeping together?” Aaron teased me with a twinkle in his gorgeous eyes.  
“No. But I want my roommate to meet you.”  
“She’s not in one of Farlow’s classes?” And I shook my head. “Okay, well, then, I guess, I’m walking you home.”  
I smiled at he slung his arm around my shoulder. I looked up at him, grinning and laughed at his goofy smile.


	5. Chapter 5

When we got to my room, I knocked to make sure Dani was in there and decent. She appeared at the door and when she saw me, she asked why I had knocked instead of just coming in but then she saw Aaron and she just said, “Oh my God,” while frozen in place. She snapped back into it and opened the door all the way, letting us both in.   
I grabbed a handful of Goldfish out of the box that Dani had left open on the desk and I sat down on my bed.  
“Dani, this is Aaron. Aaron, Dani.” I smiled as they shook hands and then Aaron sat down next to me on my bed.   
“Nice room,” Aaron told me and I looked around the disheveled room in embarrassment. I knew he was being genuine but I was not proud of the way it looked right now. Then I remembered my calendar on the wall that coincidentally Aaron’s face was on this month. The calendar had images from a ton of Broadway shows but this month Catch Me If You Can was up and I didn’t need Aaron to think that I was a creeper or something.   
I casually stood up and blocked the calendar from his view. Then I asked him to grab me a water from the fridge so that he would be facing the opposite direction. He agreed and crouched down in front of our fridge as I undid the tape and pulled the calendar off the wall.   
Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough and Aaron snuck up behind me, asking, “What’s that?”  
“Nothing,” I replied, holding it behind my back.  
Aaron put my water down on my bedstand and reached around me, trying to grab the calendar out of my hands. I spun around, attempting to keep it out of his reach. I began to scream when he grabbed me around the waist and tickled me. I fell on to my bed and he kept tickling me. I kicked my legs and dropped the calendar over the opposite edge of my bed. I thought Aaron would let go and I would just have to beat him to the calendar but he kept tickling me. I looked over to Dani, hoping she would help me but she was taking pictures of us!  
“Dani! Really?” I squealed as I rolled over, trying to escape Aaron’s tickles. Eventually, Aaron decided to stop tickling me after I fell off the bed. There was no damage done and I barely felt it but Aaron was worried I was going to get hurt so he agreed to stop. We turned on the tv and Dani sat on her bed as I watched reruns of Say Yes To The Dress. I was sure that Aaron was going to leave but he stayed until almost eleven.   
When he glanced at his watch and noticed the time, he tapped me on the shoulder. It’s a good thing too because I almost fell asleep with my head on his shoulder. “I gotta go, Em. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
“Actually, you won’t. I don’t have any classes with Farlow tomorrow.”  
“I’ll come visit. Now I know where you live.”  
I smiled at him. “I’ll walk you out.” I hopped off the bed and slipped shoes on as Aaron opened the door. I chuckled to myself as I noticed that Dani had fallen asleep on her Biology textbook. I closed the door behind us and grabbed Aaron’s arm. “Thank you for everything. It’s been really nice getting to spend time with you these last couple of days.”  
“You say that like you’re never going to see me again.”  
“No!” I laughed. “I just want you to know that whatever happens with RENT, the time that we’ve spent hanging out has really meant a lot to me.”  
“You’re such a dork,” he told me wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in close to him.  
“I know but so are you.” I booped his nose and then watched as he walked towards the exit sign at the end of the corridor. I sighed and leaned against the door before going back inside and curling up in my bed.   
I ran through what I had to do tomorrow in my head. English was at 2:00 and I never studied for that test. I hoped that I still did well but I was somewhat confident in the material. I had been doing Shakespeare since freshman year of high school so I had plenty of experience. Soon after, I fell asleep.   
I heard Dani getting ready in the morning but I kept my eyes closed wishing for more sleeping and knowing I needed it. I heard Dani leave and then a knock on the door very shortly after.   
“Dani? Did you forget how to open a door or...?” I asked, getting up out of bed and walking like a zombie over to the door. When I opened the door, it wasn’t Dani on the other side but Aaron instead.   
“Guess what?!” Aaron was grinning wide as he greeted me.   
“Can it wait? I’m trying to sleep.”  
“No! It absolutely cannot wait! You got your first audition to be in a Broadway show!”  
“What?” I’m sure that my eyes lit up as my jaw dropped open.   
“I heard back from the guys at RENT this morning and they want you to come in for an audition.” Aaron was yelling as he lifted me off the floor. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he spun me around the room until we were both dizzy and our throats hurt from laughing and yelling. He dropped me onto my bed and then fell over on top of me, still having not regained the ability to walk or even stand up straight.  
Our faces were inches away from each other. I felt my eyes go criss cross trying to look at Aaron. I took a deep breath and waited for him to stand up but he didn’t. He just hovered there, looking into my eyes with his own baby blues. I turned my head away and whispered sheepishly, “I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet.” So Aaron chuckled a little, got up, and let me go brush my teeth very quickly.   
When I came back, he was on my laptop. “I’m supposed to use that for school, you know.”  
“This is school. We are going to watch every video of ‘Light My Candle’ that’s out there. Then you’re going to nail a performance of it in MT III tomorrow and the casting director is going to be there.”  
“Wait, why do I need to sing ‘Light My Candle’?”  
“Because you’re auditioning for Mimi.” He looked at me like I was stupid.  
“What? But I… WHAT?”  
He just gave me an awkward grin. “Sorry… I thought you knew. I was never trying to get you a spot in the ensemble. You’re much too talented for the ensemble.”  
“No! I’m not! I have never played the female lead in any show before, much less on Broadway!”  
“You’ll be fine. That’s why I’m going to prep you all day today.”  
“No, I can’t. I’m not ready. Call them back and tell them I just want a spot in the ensemble.”  
“It doesn’t work that way. They need a Mimi and I’m going to give them one.” I sighed and sat down on the bed. Aaron wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in so that my head rested on his shoulder. He kissed my forehead and my heart sped up. “You are going to do great, okay?”  
I nodded in a robotic way and then I looked up at him. “You really believe I can do this?”  
“With all my heart and soul.”  
“Alright. Let’s do this then.”


	6. Chapter 6

We spent the next four hours watching and rehearsing a million different versions of ‘Light My Candle’.   
“Alright. They know that I’m doing it with you but if I were to bet, I would say that they don’t want you to use the blocking from another show. They’ll want you to come up with your own movements throughout the song so first, do whatever comes naturally after watching all those videos and then I’ll help you tweak it until it’s perfect.”  
“Thank you,” I told him while I got ready to come ‘on-stage’. Just then, Dani came in.  
“A little birdy told me that you got a Broadway audition! I’m so proud of you!” She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me until I couldn’t breathe.  
“Okay. I’m good. Thanks, Dani.”  
“I’ll leave you two to it then. I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”  
I was shaking my head no when Aaron said, “Lunch would be nice. She has class in two hours but we’re going to work right up until she has to leave and then after that too.”  
“Actually,” Dani said, setting down her keys and purse on the desk, “I talked to Mr. Wallace and he gave Emory the day off, saying that this was much more important, which I agree with. You just have to make up the test on Friday. And I already got lunch. Subs are in the plastic bag. Now, I’m really going to go but call me if you need anything else. Good luck, baby girl… And Aaron.” She chuckled to herself as she closed the door behind her.   
Without me having to leaving in the middle to go to English, we went hardcore for the rest of the day. We took a very short break for lunch and then we got back into it. I practiced everything from the timing of the knock to how to grab the drugs out of Aaron’s back pocket to how I should grab his hand and sit on his lap. At 7:30, I knew we needed to break for dinner. Aaron offered to go out and grab some stuff so I told him what I wanted and he left to go get it.  
\----------  
I woke up to the sun shining in my eyes. I had slept for thirteen hours straight. I rubbed my eyes and went to get out of bed when I realized that something was holding me back. I looked down and noticed Aaron’s arm around my waist. How the hell did that get there? and What is he doing here? were my first thoughts. I pondered just moving it gently but I decided to wake him up since we needed to practice more before the performance this afternoon. Since it was Thursday, Musical Theater wasn’t until 2:00.   
“Why did you stay over here last night?” I asked when Aaron seemed like he was beginning to actually wake up.  
“Dani told me I could. I wanted to be here right when you woke up so we could rehearse some more.”  
“Why didn’t you wake me up last night?”   
“Because you were exhausted and you gave 120% yesterday.”  
“What if my 120% isn’t enough?” I wondered, picking at my comforter.  
“Then you work harder next time,” Aaron shrugged.  
I let out a deep breath and let Aaron wrap his arms around my shoulders and place a leg on either side of me, with his feet dangling on the edge. I leaned back into him and he whispered in my ear, “You’re going to do great.” He gave my shoulders a quick rub and then let me get up so we could start. “Before I forget, we’re going over to Farlow’s room at 12:30 so you can practice on the stage.”  
I nodded and then found the karaoke recording of ‘Light My Candle’ that we had been using and planned to use this afternoon. I pressed play and then pulled myself into character. I took a deep breath and then personified Mimi in the best way I knew how. I hoped that was enough.  
\----------  
We practiced all morning and skipped breakfast but I was starving by the time lunch time arrived. Aaron and I grabbed food at the food court and just charged it to my account. My fingers were shaking as I tried to pick up my burger.  
“Don’t eat if it’s going to make you feel worse,” Aaron instructed me.  
Despite my growing hunger, I put my burger back down on my plate and just drank a lot of water. I gave all of the things I had gotten for lunch to Aaron and just sat across from him, running everything through my head once more. We finished around 12:20, in the perfect amount of time to arrive at Farlow’s exactly when he was expecting us.   
On our walk there I asked, “So are you leaving tomorrow?”  
Aaron stopped walking and turned to me. “Yeah, I guess I am. It went by really fast. I can’t believe I have to go.” The look on his face was one of confusion and pain.  
“Am I going to see you tomorrow?”  
“Probably not. I’m starting the drive back around six or seven tomorrow to beat the lunch time rush.”  
“So tonight is it?”  
He nodded. “I guess so.”  
I let out a deep breath and without saying another word, I began walking again. I tried to keep in the tears but an overwhelming sense of sadness was threatening to crack my facade of happiness.   
When we got to Farlow’s, I went straight in but Aaron said that he had to make a phone call. I entered the hall and saw it through different eyes. Now this is where my history would be made or broken. On this stage, my fate will be sealed, my destiny set in stone. This would be the most important performance of my life.   
I greeted Farlow when he crossed the stage, probably returning to his office from his lunch break. He wished me luck and told me to use the stage as long as I wanted until people started showing up.   
After a few minutes, Aaron came in and said that we could get started. I hooked up my iPod to the speaker system and played ‘Light My Candle’. Aaron and I rehearsed until students began showing up in the windows. We let them in and then went back stage.   
Nerves were running all through my body. I started to shake again but I didn’t want Aaron to see how nervous I was so I went over to a corner backstage and faced the wall. I went through the number in my head once more as silent tears began to roll down my face. No one knew I was even upset until Aaron came over to tell me that the representatives were here. I looked up at him with tears and fear in my deep blue eyes.   
Aaron didn’t say a word. He just wrapped his arms around me and hushed me until the tears disappeared. I swallowed hard and blinked away the rest of the tears when Aaron leaned down and kissed me on the lips.   
It was a quick kiss and when I opened my eyes and gasped, Aaron was already on stage to introduce me. I took as many deep breaths as I could fit in. I watched Farlow press play on my iPod and then I waited for my cue.


	7. Chapter 7

And what happened next was amazing. I walked on stage and gave more to my performance than I ever have before. Even more than when we did “As Long As You’re Mine”, although the stakes were of course even higher now. Yesterday, I wanted to impress Sarina and Farlow and even Aaron. Today, I had to impress the people who would control my career.   
As much as I wanted this part, since I had been wanting to play Mimi since the first time I saw RENT, I hoped that they only gave it to me if I was truly the best. I didn’t want my first Broadway role to be some kind of pity vote or be a result of my friendship, or whatever it was, with Aaron. If I was right for this part, then of course I wanted it. More than a lot of other things. But if I wasn’t the perfect Mimi then I hoped that they would give it to someone else.   
When I was on stage, all of my insecurities disappeared under the mask that Mimi wore. Instead, I exuded the false confidence that Mimi embodied. I flirted with Aaron and teased him but then I got serious when I was looking for my ‘smack’. I thought about what this drug meant to Mimi. It was the only thing that made her feel okay again. It gave her relief. Aaron’s smile briefly flashed before my eyes but then my concentration immediately refocused itself. I smiled in character as I pointed out my butt on stage.   
Aaron and I had joked many times in the last two days because we both agreed that my backside was not much to look at but we both played along. Although the performance seemed like it went on for an eternity and a half, it also felt like it was done in the blink of an eye. Time on stage traveled differently than time elsewhere but it was a science I had yet to figure out.   
When we finished, lots of people stood, just like yesterday but I couldn’t see if the people from RENT were standing or not. But apparently Aaron saw them. He told me to run backstage and grab water and that he would be right back.   
I hurried off the stage and downed most of my water bottle with adrenaline pumping through my whole body. A smile was glued on my face because I knew I had done the absolute best I could.  
Aaron looked worried when he came backstage and my heart almost shattered. “What? What’s wrong?” I asked, frantically.   
“Well. Nothing too bad. It’s just… They want you to do ‘Out Tonight’ too and then a ballad of your choice too and we didn’t get to practice anything.”  
I took a deep breath. “I’m good. I know ‘Out Tonight’.”  
“They just want to see something that I didn’t help you with, I guess.”  
“Can we set up the ballet bars across the back of the stage and leave on all the set pieces from ‘Candle’? It’ll just be another minute but crap, what am I going to do for a ballad?” Then a wonderful thought crossed my mind. “I’ve got it. Are they going to let you stay on for ‘Out Tonight’ so I can finish out the song the way it is in the script.”  
Aaron ran out into the audience to ask while Farlow and I set up the ballet bars. I could see the confused looks on everyone’s face but I knew what I was doing. I ran ‘Out Tonight’ at least once a night in high school. Not with ballet bars but on this stage, they weren’t ballet bars. They were a single railing. When Aaron jumped back up onto the stage, he told me that they would let him stay so we could run the end. I knew that we had never rehearsed anything so I told him to just follow my lead. I mean, he wouldn’t know my individual moves but he knew how to act in this scene so hopefully, everything would go off without a hitch.   
I took a deep breath and stood center stage behind the ‘railing’. I listened to the intro of the song and made sure I started on time. I played up the slight rasp in my voice and pretended that I was in my room in high school again. I kicked my legs and shook my hips.  
When it got to the slow part, I pretended I was hanging off the railing until I talked about forgetting who we are. When the song picked up again, I held on to the railing like it was the only thing holding me back. I went to the side of the stage that none of the set was on. As I sang the last verse, I walked down in front of the audience and then climbed back up the stairs on the other side until I was at Roger’s apartment. I sang directly to Aaron and hopped up onto the table, tossing everything off. Aaron stood at one end of the table and I crawled slowly to him. I thrusted my hips and as I sang the last ‘tonight’, I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him towards me, holding his hair in my hands.  
I heard hoots and hollers from the audience and I whispered into Aaron’s ear to start striking everything except a stool for me. I stood center stage and thanked everyone for being there, even though the MT III kids didn’t really have a choice.   
“So, I had a request from those lovely casting directors back there to do a ballad too. So, in honor of my new friend, who is a huge talent and one of the most amazing guys I’ve ever met, I’m going to sing a song from another show he’s been in. It’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard and I just fell in love with it the instant that I heard it. I worked my butt off to sing this song and do it justice but the truth is that I could never pull it off the way Kerry Butler did. This song is from ‘Catch Me If You Can’ and it’s called ‘Fly, Fly Away’.”  
By the time I finished my spiel, Farlow and Aaron had struck the whole set and I was ready to go. I sat on my stool at center stage and took the handheld mic from Farlow. We had been using the hairline mics but I had asked specifically for a handheld for this song. I passed off my other mic to Aaron who took it back stage and then I waited to hear the first chord of my song. I listened for the chord and then I sang my heart out. I killed the belting notes even though my voice would definitely be done for the day after this song.   
I was even crying by the end of the song because I thought of Aaron leaving me. As I sang ‘we didn’t get to say goodbye’, I pictured Aaron hugging me one last time before he left and wondered if maybe goodbye was harder than going without it. I forced a smile as the last notes rang out and I was joined on the stage by Aaron and Mr. Farlow. Aaron placed his arm around my back and his hand on my waist and then we bowed together. When we stood back up, he hugged me and waved to the audience as Farlow shut the curtain on us.   
When it was just us back there, I remembered. I remembered the kiss. It had disappeared in my thoughts while I was on stage but now that I was done, it all came flooding back along with feelings of confusion and about a million other things.  
I began to ask Aaron if we could talk but Farlow called to us and asked if we could come out on the apron. Farlow announced that even though we technically had an hour left of class that MT III was dismissed for the day.   
The casting reps stood up but they stayed in the back as I made my way over to introduce myself.  
“Hi, I’m Emory.”  
They each told me their names and said that I gave a great performance. They informed me that they would be in touch within the next few days.   
I thanked them greatly for coming and shook their hands as they exited Farlow’s room. I saw Aaron give me a thumbs up from stage as I walked back through the house and climbed back onto the stage.   
“You did great work today, Emory. They’d be crazy not to cast you,” Farlow told me and gave me a pat on the back before disappearing in his office backstage. I thanked him as he left my sight then I let out a deep sigh.   
“He’s right. You did amazing.” Aaron swung his arm around my shoulders and rubbed my head, messing up my hair.  
I mustered up the courage to ask Aaron about the kiss. Really, I just stammered, “You… you kissed… me.” And then I hid my red, embarrassed face behind my hands.


	8. Chapter 8

“Don’t look so scared… It was a just good luck kiss.”  
“Oh,” I muttered under my breath. I’m not sure what I was expecting him to say and I’m not sure what I wanted to hear but I think what he said made it easier on both of us.  
What if he had said it meant something and then I didn’t get the part. Then he would be kissing another girl on stage every day and I would be here in Ithaca. That would never work. Then again, he hadn’t said it meant nothing.   
My mind was travelling to a million places. Even if it would hurt, had I wanted to hear that there was something here? Something between us? Or what if I did get the part and I moved into the city? Then wouldn’t we be able to make it work?   
What if it was the age difference? He was ten years older than me and that’s a lot. And yet, every time I’m near him, I feel something.   
I was pulled out of my thoughts by Aaron, who was waving his hand in front of my face. “Hey, you. Don’t worry about the audition. You were great and you’ll know in a few days.” I nodded, still too distracted to give an answer. “Alright, well it’s almost three now. I want you to go home and get some rest. We worked really hard these last few days so take a nap and then get ready because at 7:00, I’m coming to pick you up and we’re going out to dinner.”  
“Where are you taking me?”  
“All I’m going to say is it’s the place I went after I got back to Ithaca after auditioning for my first show Broadway show. Dress nicely.”  
“Do I not usually look nice?”  
“You always look beautiful to me. I’m just saying, tonight’s one of those nights where it’s okay to throw on the little black dress and put some effort into how you look like I know you love to do.”   
“Jeez, you know me better than most people and we only met four days ago.”  
“Was it really only four days?” Aaron asked me with a sparkle of disbelief in his eyes.  
I didn’t answer I just gave a half-focused smile. My thoughts drifted to the idea that this was all a dream. In four days, I had met a man I had only ever dreamt of before and he had become the best friend I could ever imagine. He had brought my wildest dreams and turned them into an unbelievable reality. He handed me my goals on a platter but he held it high above my head so I still had to earn it for myself.   
And now whatever happened in the next few days, my course in life had been thrown off tilt and I didn’t know exactly how to get it back. Then again, I wasn’t sure that I wanted the same balance that I had once deemed normal and appropriate. Part of me wanted to go out and live life. All of me knew though that it was all dependent on whether or not I got the role of Mimi, which was totally out of my control as of about twenty minutes ago.   
Aaron’s voice zapped me back into the present reality in which it seemed that time was dragging on and speeding away all at the same time. “Okay, well, you go get some rest and get ready and I’ll text you when I’m on my way to get you.” He gave me a rushed hug and then I watched as he disappeared across campus.


	9. Chapter 9

I passed out as soon as I hit my pillow in my dorm room. Thankfully I had the alarm set before I laid down. I woke up to my radio singing at five o’clock. I turned it off and hopped into the shower. I hummed along to the radio inside my head as I let the water drench my skin. Dani had come home while I was in the shower and I greeted her as I came back into the room, rubbing my scalp with my already wet towel. I sat down on my bed as she asked me how the audition went.  
“Well, I think. I’m not totally sure. I just know that I gave it my all up there and if someone else is better than they deserve it. I would never want to get the part just because I know Aaron.”  
“I think you and Aaron are a little closer than just ‘knowing’ each other.” She put air quotes around knowing. I smiled a little to myself, realizing that she was right and being happy about it. “Jesus, you’re into him, aren’t you?”  
“That’s not fair! I was into him before I even met him. Now he’s here and it’s impossible not to be into him.”  
“What are you going to do?”  
“There’s nothing I can do until I find out if I got Mimi or not.”  
“You have to tell him!” Dani squealed at me as my jaw dropped open.  
“No! I don’t. He kissed me today but…”  
“He kissed you?! When were you going to tell me?”  
“I just did!” Dani threw a pillow at me and I tossed my arms up to block it.  
“You have to tell him. A kiss always means something.”  
“Yeah, he said it meant good luck which basically means that it meant nothing to him, even though it clearly meant alot to me.”  
“He gave you a good luck kiss? Blech.” I knew she hadn’t meant that the kiss was gross, just the idea that he used good luck as an excuse to kiss me.  
“I know!” I was squealing now as my voice rose. “What is that supposed to mean?”  
“I have no idea!”  
“Anyway, I have to get ready. Aaron’s taking me out to dinner tonight to celebrate the audition and everything.”  
“Ooh! Fancy! Where is he taking you?”  
“I don’t know. It’s a surprise but he said it’s where he went after his first Broadway audition.” My phone buzzed on the bedside table next to my bed.   
We’re going dancing after dinner. Be prepared :)  
I giggled to myself as Dani warned, “That better be Aaron.”  
“Who else?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve seen that smile on your face ever in the last four years that we’ve known each other.”  
I grinned again. “Apparently we’re going dancing after dinner tonight.”  
“That sounds like a bad idea.”  
“Why?” I wondered.   
“This is your last night together and you’re going out to a club to go dancing after a romantic dinner. It just sounds a lot like a date to me…” She trailed off at the end and my heart began to race. What if it is a date? He wouldn’t do that, would he? Right before he left? He wouldn’t leave me here totally into him, right?  
“Well, I guess we’ll see tonight. I have to start getting ready. It’s almost six already.”  
I plugged in my curling iron and blow-dried my hair. I twisted portions of my long messy hair around the wand until I had tumbling waves that reached half-way down my back. I pinned some pieces in the front until I was satisfied with how I looked. Then I moved on to makeup. How do I find makeup that is perfect for dinner and dancing?   
I decided on a light colored smokey eye and pale pink lips. It was almost 6:45 when I finished and my stomach was crawling with butterflies that felt like they were eating my insides. I heard a knock on our door as I pulled on my favorite black dress. It was a v-neck with an a-line skirt that flowed further than half-way down my thigh so I looked mature and not slutty. The shoulders to the sleeveless dress were covered in glitter and sparkles in varying shades of silver. I opened the door with one of my silver heels on my feet. I managed to still stand three inches shorter than Aaron.   
I smiled deeply as I saw his face grinning back at me. He looked me up and down, keeping his hands behind his back, before I spun around and found my other heel to place on my left foot. I sat on my bed and pulled it on as I watched him pull flowers out from behind him. I sighed deeply as my eyes fell over the red and white roses. ‘Wow’ was all I said. I tried to come up with something more clever and more grateful sounding because I was in awe of his kindness but my mouth failed me as I felt myself fall in love.   
I felt as if I had known Aaron my whole life. I knew all of the shows he had ever done. I had learned stories. I had imagined meeting him one day but I never thought it would actually happen. And then it did. I should have known. I should have known as soon as he bumped into me at Manley’s that I wouldn’t be able to let him go. I had loved him since the first time I heard him sing and Aaron had turned out to be exactly who I had hoped he would be.   
He was sweeter than anyone could imagine. He loved what he did for work. His heart was large. He made me laugh. He was the picture of my ideal man and now I was going to have to give that up. I couldn’t tell him. It would ruin everything that we had built up in the last four days. If he didn’t feel the same way, he would leave here feeling completely different than me. He would pity me, another one of those girls who dreamt of a celebrity actually loving them back. He would be broken by breaking my heart because he cares. We would both fall asleep hurting tonight and I could bear my pain but I couldn’t be the reason for tears in Aaron’s eyes and hurting in his heart.   
Even if he did feel the same way, the concept of ‘us’ was impossible. He was older and wiser and more talented and on Broadway. I was a college student who may or may not be on Broadway some day soon or far away. He lived in the city and performed eight times a week. I lived in Ithaca and went to class eight times a week.   
“What’s clouding your thoughts, babygirl?” I melted even more as he called me babygirl but my eyes darkened again as I reminded myself that this wasn’t an option.  
“Nothing. I’m just nervous about the audition. You ready to go?”  
He nodded and motioned for me to go out the door ahead of him. I did and as Aaron shut the door behind us, he wrapped his arm around my waist. “You look amazing,” he whispered in my ear. I looked away, trying to hide my blushing cheeks. Even with his compliment, it was decided. I wouldn’t let myself have feelings for him. I didn’t need a boyfriend. I had time for that and I wasn’t about to let my friendship with Aaron be ruined because I decided it was a good idea to fall in love with him. Nope. That wasn’t happening. We would stay friends even if it killed me.


	10. Chapter 10

He walked me to his car parked outside and when we got there, he took off his tie and wrapped it around my head, covering my eyes.   
“What are you doing?”  
“It’s a surprise. You’ll be fine. It’s only a five minute drive.”  
I groaned as he helped me into the passenger seat of his car. I heard my door shut and a few moments later, his door opened.   
He was right. We couldn’t have been in the car for more than five minutes. When we arrived, Aaron assisted me in getting out of the car and I pulled at his makeshift blind-fold.   
“Ah-ah-ah, not yet. Not until we get inside.”  
I sighed. “Fine. Hurry up. I’m impatient.”  
I heard him chuckle and I felt his exhale of breath on my neck. My heart raced. I could feel the heat of his body against my body and I needed it in the cool air. It got warmer as we entered the restaurant. I felt Aaron’s hand grab mine and he placed another hand on my waist. “Be careful. We’re going down stairs.”  
I mumbled something about “Oh gosh” or “That’s a stupid idea” but finally I felt my feet reach the ground with no more stairs beyond me.   
“We’re here,” Aaron said, placing his hands on my face and undoing the knot in his tie. As soon as my blindfold was off, I blinked, taking in the exquisite view. There was a single table in the middle of the vast basement. Decorating the table top and the ground around us were red and white rose petals to match the ones in the bouquet that Aaron had given me before we got here. There were candles lit on the table and there were two place settings.   
Tears welled up in my eyes then they fell gracefully down my cheeks. I was silent until Aaron noticed I was crying and just the words ‘Are you okay?’ invoked sobbing on my part. He pulled me in close to his chest and I felt his muscles around me.   
Thank God, he knew that it was because I was going to miss him and it wasn’t anything that he did. I mustered some kind of a smile because of it. I didn’t have to explain myself to him. He just knew. He felt it too. He could tell that this experience, no matter it’s importance to him, meant the world to me and I wasn’t ready for him to go. I knew though that this was big for him too, maybe not as life-changing as it was for me, but still significant.  
He held me until my tears dried away and then he kissed my forehead. “I don’t want to leave tomorrow. I never want to leave your side again. I am just praying, and I’m not a religious man, but I’m praying you’ll get that part and then I can see you every single day.”  
“Thank you,” I mouthed to him, still not able to speak properly. He laid out his arms and motioned towards the table. Like a true gentleman, he pulled out the chair for me and let me sit. Then he went around the table and took his seat. “Why did you do this?” I asked, not rudely but just curiously.   
For a moment, he just looked at me. His eyes fell on mine and I was mesmerized by the perfect shade of blue that his irises were. My eyes glanced up at his hair that was perfectly combed into place, looking better than mine, even with the unique blond streaks that Aaron had acquired for the role of Roger. His mouth had a wide grin on it and the candles were shining a magnificent glow on his perfect white teeth.  
“I just wanted to do something special for you. After all, you had four days to work with and you changed my whole life.”  
I blushed and retorted, “I didn’t change your life. I just added onto it.”  
“That may be true but you may change it for good if they make the right choice and cast you.”  
“How do you know it’s the right choice? You don’t know who else auditioned.”  
“Because I know you and I know this role and there can’t be anyone out there that performed better than you today.”  
I said thank you as the waiter came out with one big plate of spaghetti and meatballs. “Okay, so let me explain first. So last night, you passed out and I was just goofing around and I opened one of your books and your bucket list fell out.”  
“Oh, gosh,” I covered my face with my hands but Aaron continued.   
“And I was like, ‘Jeez, this girl already has a bucket list?’ but I read through it and the first one on the list was split a plate of spaghetti Lady and the Tramp style so here we are.”  
I inhaled sharply, slightly taken aback by the great length that Aaron had gone to for me. “Wow.”  
“And I was hoping,” he said, “that we could do it all, whether it was while I was visiting you at Ithaca or if you come to the city with me.” He looked deeply into my eyes and placed his big, warm hands over mine on the table top. “I want to do it all with you.”  
I tried to stop the pounding of my heart against my chest. It would be hard but I wanted Aaron in my life and I wasn’t about to let romance get in the way of that. He was my friend. That’s all.  
We ate our plate of spaghetti and finally we got to the last long strand. He pointed and told me to pick it up and put it in my mouth. We slurped the spaghetti into our mouths until we were maybe four inches away from each other’s mouths. Then I bit the string of spaghetti. I may never know if I bit it on purpose subconsciously or it was just an accident but the point is, we never did it completely. We never kissed but I still counted it on my bucket list.   
When we finished, we talked and laughed but quickly Aaron looked at his watch and realized we had to leave in order to get any dancing in before I passed out. He didn’t blindfold me so I saw the whole three minute drive to Level B Bar, Lounge and Dancing. It wasn’t very exciting but still my heart was racing because I was there with Aaron. I rubbed my hands on my lap, flattening out my dress over and over again until our car was parked and Aaron led me out of the car.   
He held out his arm for me to wrap my own around. I leaned my head on his shoulder and cuddled in close as we went inside. They let us right in without even asking our names so I assumed that they already knew Aaron.  
As soon as I stepped inside, the pounding of the music shook me but I jumped right in and began dancing, pulling Aaron through the crowd with me. We danced to a few songs before Aaron ordered me a drink from the bar. “You are over 21, right?”  
“How is it that we’ve basically woven ourselves into each other’s lives these last four days and you didn’t even know how old I am?” I chuckled. “Yes, I’m 22.”  
“Well, your information isn’t on the Internet for everyone to see.”  
“That is true,” I smirked, taking a sip of the cocktail that Aaron had ordered for me. I heard the pounding of a beat over everything else in the club and recognized one of my favorite songs. I threw back the rest of my drink and grabbed Aaron’s hand. I laced my fingers around his and pulled him onto the dance floor. I joined in at the last bit of the first chorus just in time for “Shut up and dance with me!” I yelled out the lyrics to the rest of the song as I danced around Aaron, flirting with the distance between us.

“Don’t you dare look back  
Just keep your eyes on me”  
I said, “You’re holding back”  
She said, “Shut up and dance with me”  
This woman is my destiny  
She said, “Ooh-oh, shut up and dance with me”

I laughed as Aaron picked me up and spun me around and around in circles. I tried not to hit anyone else but thankfully it wasn’t that crowded since it was a Thursday night. I breathed out as I sang the last line of the song and I looked into Aaron’s baby blues that were lit up by the flashing strobe lights in the club.  
At that moment, I saw something that I didn’t recognize in his eyes. For a second, I mistook it for desire. If it had been passion I had seen in his gaze, it quickly disappeared. My breathing quickened and all of the sudden I was overwhelmed.   
I clutched my stomach as I began to feel it cramping. I looked up at Aaron and he must have seen it in my eyes that I wasn’t okay because he reached out to catch me just as I fell unconscious.


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up immediately, but there were still a hoard of people around me. The bartender was on the phone with 911 and Aaron was holding my hand with one of his and my head with the other. He helped me sit up and held me close to him, wrapping both his arms around me. The bartender saw that I was awake and told the person on the phone. I tried to tell Aaron I didn’t need an ambulance but he insisted.  
After ten minutes or so, I heard the ambulance pull up. They got me on a stretcher and drove me to the hospital. We waited and waited once we were there. Dani and Jacob visited but they went home to get rest after they made sure I was all right. Aaron held my hand the whole time as doctors ran test after test and finally Dr. Shoal came back to meet us.  
“Ms. Rosen, how often do you consume alcohol?”  
“Almost never. I’ve only had a few sips my whole life.”  
“I think we’ve figured out what went wrong tonight. After running a series of tests, it seems you have an intolerance to alcohol. In small doses, you probably just got a little bit of a stomach ache but tonight you drank more and that’s what caused your cramping and your collapse. Other than that, you’re fine. I would advise you stay away from alcohol from here on out though.”  
I thanked the doctor profusely and Aaron and I both shook his hand before he left. We got me discharged from the hospital and then we sat in Aaron’s car in the parking lot which Dani and Jacob had graciously dropped off while I was getting the tests done.  
Aaron and I sat in silence and he had his hands resting on the steering wheel but the car was even on yet. Then out of nowhere he turned to me and murmured, “Light weight.” I cracked a smile and I looked at him, “No kidding.”  
“I’m gonna miss you, kid…” he began but I stopped him. “Don’t. I can’t. Just give me the ride home to pretend that tonight isn’t goodbye.” Aaron grabbed my hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it. Then he held it all the way back to the parking lot near my dorm. I sat in the warmth of the car and waited for the tears to start running down my face. They came quickly. Aaron shut the car off and wrapped his arms around me the best he could with the armrest between us. We just sat there for a while. He wiped my tears away although they kept falling.  
Then, he got out of the car and helped me out. We shut the passenger door behind me and I leaned up against it. Aaron held my hands in his. I looked up at him and we just stared into each other’s eyes. Under my breath but loud enough for Aaron to hear, I sang, “I can’t believe this is goodbye,” just the way they do in RENT. He brushed a piece of my hair out of my eyes. Sometime throughout the night it had been scrunched up into a bun, with a few unruly tendrils straying outside the reach of the hair tie.  
He left his hand on my face and leaned down so his face was inches from mine. He brought his lips towards mine and paused so I felt his breath melt my lips. Then he kissed me. I felt his fingers on the back of my neck and they gave me chills as his tongue slid into my mouth. My breath caught as we moved to the rhythm of an imaginary song on the radio in our heads. I didn’t want it to end but finally I pulled away, hiding the bottom of my face with my hand. It all seemed so surreal and suddenly my plan from early had gone to shit after one simple moment.  
I didn’t mean to sound snarky but I did as I spat out, “So was that just a goodbye kiss?”  
Aaron let out a deep sigh and turned away from me, running his fingers through his perfect hair. “No. I used good luck as an excuse to kiss you earlier because I was dying to and I’m not going to hide behind another excuse because I think you’re smarter than that. From the moment I met you, I fell in love. I was in love with your clumsiness and your apology. I was in love with your slight starstruckedness but then your ability to be uniquely yourself as soon as you got comfortable, which didn’t take long. My heart fluttered in a way I’ve never felt when you listed everything amazing about me. I mean, anyone would melt if someone said half the things to them that you said to me. And being on stage with you…” His eyes lit up as he spoke, although it almost seemed like he was talking to himself because I could only see half his face. “I’ve never had a better scene partner. Everything flowed so easily. “As Long As You’re Mine” was amazing and we had never even rehearsed it before. I don’t know how we knew what to do, but we just did. It’s like something came over me and my body could read yours and my brain was just catching up. And tonight, you scared me to death. In four days, you became one of the most important people in my life and I knew I couldn’t lose you. Even though you were only down for a second or two, in those two seconds, I didn’t want to be there without you. I felt like I had lost everything. You became my world and I don’t know how you got this hold on me and it’s not fair because now I have to leave you when all I want to do is be by your side for the rest of my life. I knew the moment when we locked eyes and you told me your name that we were going to make history together. I don’t know how it’s possible but I fell in love in four days and I never want it to stop because I’ve never felt this alive.”  
By now, my face was drenched in salty tears. I tried wiping them off but they just kept spilling over, somewhat like my feelings for Aaron. He finally turned to me and I could see the sincerity in his eyes. “Why are you saying this? We can’t make this work with you in the city and me in Ithaca. You barely know me. You didn’t even know how old I was until tonight. You can’t love me.”  
I could see the pain in Aaron’s eyes as I spoke. “Why are you so afraid of someone loving you? Why are you afraid of an audience loving you? Why do you think that you only deserve to be in the background?”  
“Because I do! I’m nothing amazing!” My voice rose to a shout as I continued. “I’m not beautiful or a high soprano or an amazing belter. I don’t deserve anything special because I’m not special. People like you deserve the spotlight because you love it and you are kind and genuine. I’m not even majoring in musical theater. If I chose something else to do with the rest of my life, then why should I get the role of a lifetime over someone who has always known what they wanted? And you. I don’t deserve you. I flipped shit at you our second day knowing each other because of Sarina and some stupid rumors she was spreading. Pushing people away is the only thing I know and I’m going to keep doing it because I don’t know any other way.”  
Aaron grabbed my face with his hands. “You can’t push me away because I know. I just know that you’re the one I’m meant to be with. You and I are supposed to be together. I can tell.”  
I furrowed my brows. “How are you so sure?”  
“I feel it.” He let go of my cheeks and clutched his heart. “I just am, okay? And you can’t tell me that you don’t feel anything because I know you do. I can see it in your eyes. It’s exactly the same way I feel about you.”  
“But we can’t. I can’t put myself through a long-distance relationship with someone I met four days ago.”  
“Who says it’s going to be long distance? If you get the part, you can move into the city with me.”  
“Yes, because it’s going to be so easy to explain to my mom why I’m dropping out of college to move in with my 32 year old boyfriend in New York City.”  
“Hey hey hey, it’s not like you don’t have a reason. You’d be headlining in a Broadway show, one you’ve dreamt of being in your whole life.”  
“And what if I don’t get the part? What then?”  
“Then we make it work. I’m telling you that I love you and I would do anything for you. Even if it’s meeting you halfway between Ithaca and New York City on my day off to get lunch and rent a hotel room and cuddle for a few hours. Even if it’s skyping at 11:00 at night because I just got home from the show and you’re studying for a test you have to take the next day. And I would do that for you until you graduate and then we go from there. You can come live with me in the city and audition for shows while you work another job or you can just work or anything. Whatever you want is what I will do my best to give you. I want you to be the one that I tell my whole day to. I want to do it all with you.” As he told me that for the second time tonight, I started to believe him.  
I bit my lip. “I’m absolutely in love with you and I have no idea what to do.” A smile spread slowly across Aaron’s face and then he kissed me again.  
“Don’t do anything. Just wait. They’ll call you within 72 hours and then we’ll know what we have to do.” He kissed my forehead as I leaned into him.  
I looked up at him and his eyes connected with mine, just like they had the first time. “You know this is insane, right?”  
Again, he brushed the hair out of my face. “I don’t mind being insane with the girl I love. Clearly, I’m insanely in love already.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally I was going to have Aaron wait to tell Emory how he feels and I did a rewrite where he didn't but it just seemed so natural here. Sorry for anyone who thinks it seems rushed but it is fiction after all.


	12. Chapter 12

Saying goodbye to Aaron was one of the hardest things I had ever done so it was no surprise that I barely slept that night. Somehow, I still managed to go to Macroeconomics at ten and make up my English test at 2:00. My heart raced each time my phone buzzed. I didn’t know if I would hear the news from Aaron or the casting directors or even the director himself. Sometimes my heart just raced because I knew Aaron was on the other end.  
He texted me when he woke up on Friday morning and was about to head back to the city and so when I got up to go to class, I was greeted by, “Good morning, beautiful. Hope you slept like the angel you are. Call me tonight?” My heart ached because I missed him already but thankfully, I had class to distract me.  
Dani treated me to Chinese food and Ben & Jerry’s that night, per customary Friday night traditions, especially after a particularly stressful or exciting week. We sat watching Netflix and eating until Aaron called at 9:30.  
“Sorry,” he whispered into the phone. “I was meeting a few of the cast members for dinner and it ran late. I guess they finally cast Skylar as Mark. Seems like the directors really liked the Hollywood Bowl cast.”  
“Did Vanessa audition for Mimi again?” I asked, my voice catching in my throat as I snuck out into the hallway so that I wasn’t bothering Dani while she tried to watch tv.  
“She did. I’m not sure where they stand on casting Mimi right now but I promise as soon as I know something, you’ll know too.”  
I replied by letting out a deep breath. “Anyway… How was your drive back?”  
“Not very eventful. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”  
I chuckled a little. “I miss you, you know. Already. But I can listen to you sing whenever I want and I can pretend you’re here and not four hours away.”  
“That’s not fair. I can’t do that!”  
“Maybe someday you’ll have a cast recording with me on it.”  
“I hope so. For both of us.”  
We kept talking for another fifteen minutes or so but Aaron was tired so I let him sleep. We didn’t end the phone call with “I love you” because it just seemed too fast to say it all the time but we both knew.  
\----------  
The weekend came and went without any phone calls regarding the casting. Aaron and I texted plenty each day except for when he was with the press and the people that had already been cast. He always asked if I had heard anything and the answer was always no. I knew he was busy so I tried not to distract him but I just wanted to hear his voice.  
Finally, he called me Sunday night. “What’s the verdict?” Aaron asked.  
“Nothing,” I told him, whispering into the phone so as not to wake Dani as I snuck out of the room. I made my way down towards the door as Aaron and I continued our conversation.  
“Huh, well, that’s funny. I wonder why you haven’t heard yet.” There was something funny in Aaron’s voice. I could tell something wasn’t right. “Oh, wait! I know why you haven’t heard! They told me first and I asked if I could be the one to tell you!”  
I choked on my words. “What?”  
“Well, you know, I love you and I figured who better than me, the man who arranged the audition, to tell you that YOU GOT THE PART!”  
I had just gotten outside and I let out a scream. “You’re joking!”  
“Oh my gosh, Em, I would never joke about this. You’re going to play Mimi in RENT on Broadway.”  
My breath just stopped altogether right then. My world felt like it was spinning and I didn’t say anything for a moment. “Thank you, Aaron,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Ohmygosh, I have to call my parents and the Dean’s office. When do I have to come to the city? I’M GOING TO BE ON BROADWAY!” I was still squealing.  
Aaron and I stayed on the phone a little longer to talk about details. We decided it would be better if I didn’t move in with him right away since we had just started dating but it was okay since I had a cousin, Kourtney, who lived in the city and I knew she wouldn’t mind having a roommate. When I got to my room, I got out a piece of paper and wrote down everything I had to do tomorrow.

To Do List

Call my parents  
Call Kourt  
Start packing  
Go to the Dean’s office

And so it went. I couldn’t believe this was truly happening and I had to be in New York City by Friday for the first read through. I had been the last one they cast but they knew I needed time so they held off on the read through until I could get there but Friday was the latest they could push it.

\----------  
The next few days flew by miraculously fast and on Thursday, I was packing all of my stuff into my car. Dani and Jacob were helping me lift everything into my small Honda Accord. My parents had offered to come out and help but I told them I was fine.   
We had all just gone out to lunch and I was just about to leave, with one small errand left to run. I said goodbye to Dani and Jacob, another tearful goodbye but manageable. I was sure it would be worse during the four hour car ride to the city. After saying goodbye to my friends, I resolved that I had to say goodbye to Farlow.   
I marched into his office to find him sitting at his desk, probably planning something for his Musical Theater class, which I was no longer a part of. I knocked gently on the door and he let me in.  
“I can’t stay long,” I said, “But I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to meet someone like Aaron, which led me to this amazing frenzy that my life has turned into. Your guidance and help as a teacher has surely had an effect on what got me to this moment and I just wanted to thank you for your role in me getting the dream I never thought I deserved.”   
Farlow nodded, never much of a talkative man, but he rose from his seat to give me a hug, and then he told me in a clear and precise tone, “You are going to do great things, Emory Rosen. I’m glad I got to watch you grow into the performer that you are now.”  
I thanked him once more, found my car and then started the drive to the city, where the next chapter of my life would begin.


	13. Chapter 13

“Do you want to dance?” I asked, huskily. My voice sounded so distant and unlike myself that I almost didn’t recognize it.  
“With you?” Aaron sang, his voice travelling up at the end.   
“No... with my father,” I teased, singing back, still disconnected from the voice that was flowing from my mouth.   
“I’m Roger,” Aaron replied. I pulled my finger down his v-neck halfway between both sides of his leather jacket. I slipped my hand into the back pocket of Aaron’s jeans, stealing back my imaginary ‘stash’. “They call me- They call me Mimi.”  
I heard our director clap softly. He rattled off a list of notes that I took down with pen and paper while I sat down on the wooden rehearsal floor.   
“Alright,” he said when we finished. “You and Aaron are good for the day.”   
I smiled lightly and Aaron gave me a hand up off the floor. We had been dancing and practicing for hours and I was exhausted. I dramatically collapsed into Aaron’s arms as soon as I was standing up straight. He picked me up and helped me over to my bag.   
I wiped sweat of my forehead with my shirt that I had taken off sometime in the middle of rehearsal. I had stayed just in my sports bra after that since the air-conditioning was broken in our rehearsal building. “Quite the day, huh?”  
“Mhmm,” Aaron answered, taking a sip of water. “It gets better.”   
I groaned as I tugged my shirt back over my head and slung my bag over one shoulder. Aaron and I started walking across the rehearsal space towards the door. He opened it for me and let me walk through before he followed.   
“Everyone loves working with you.” I could feel a smile spread across my face.   
“And I’m doing okay? I mean Mimi is just so- Not me. At all.”  
“Hey.” Aaron placed a hand on my back. “It’s called acting for a reason and you’re doing great. I would never have recommended you for this if I didn’t think you were perfect and guess what? The directors thought you were perfect too.”  
We walked down the stairs since the elevator was also broken. I was already sore from the long day of rehearsal. I groaned and Aaron laughed. “We gotta get you in shape so you’re not so exhausted after rehearsal.”  
“Ugh, I know,” I said as I pushed open the door out of the rehearsal building.   
“What are you doing right now?”  
“Not working out with you, I hope,” I laughed.  
“Maybe just dinner instead.”  
“I’ll follow you.”   
“Are you kidding? I’m not taking you out. I’m going to cook for you, which means I need to go to the store. So you should go home and change because you smell awful and then meet me at my apartment.”  
I smiled. “Fine. See you in like a half hour?”  
“Sounds good. See you later, Em.” Aaron gave me a quick kiss before he climbed into his car and I followed.   
I drove the short drive from the rehearsal space to my apartment. I dumped my bag on the side table next to my front door and scurried into my bedroom. Kourt and her boyfriend were on the couch watching something and I wasn’t in the mood to talk to either of them right now. It had only been a week but it was clear that Kourt always acted different around Derek and I just couldn’t handle that today. I was already exhausted and I just wanted to go hang out with Aaron. I started running the shower and then I quickly undressed and hopped in. I was always worried that Derek was going to come in while I was showering since we only had one bathroom so I tried to make it as quick as possible just to rinse off the sweat that had accumulated over the day. I rinsed my hair and then grabbed my towel, hurrying out. I slid on jeans and a comfy tank top that I had bought last week from a little shop in the city.   
I left my car keys on the stand since Aaron’s was only a couple blocks away and with the traffic, it would probably be faster to walk. Without Kourt saying a word to me, I tiptoed out the door, down the stairs, and into the street.


	14. Chapter 14

It had barely cooled off since rehearsal. I probably should have brought a jacket for the walk home but if it was too cold, Aaron would just give me something to throw on over my tank top.   
We had been rehearsing RENT for five days now and I was astonished at how quickly it was coming together. In two more days, the whole show would be blocked and choreographed and we could just focus on perfecting it.   
It only took me ten minutes to get to Aaron’s and I could smell the food as soon as I walked in. He was cooking my favorite dish was Bruschetta Chicken at the stove in his kitchen. I hopped up onto the counter and stuck my finger in the bag of marinade, careful not to get too much on my finger but I made sure that I got enough to taste my favorite flavors.   
“Mmm, this is amazing! Where did you learn to cook?”  
“Oh, baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” Aaron sang to me, also scooping up some of the sauce on his finger and dolloping it on my nose.   
“Really?” I pouted. “That wasn’t nice of you.”  
“My bad,” Aaron teased. “Oh, before I forget, Matt texted me and said that we’re running both part of La Vie Boheme tomorrow with I Should Tell You in between.”  
“So I get to kiss my devilishly handsome boyfriend onstage for the whole world to see?”  
Aaron nodded. “I was thinking that maybe you wanted to practice?” He kinked his eyebrow and grinned at me.  
“Well, you know, since I’m a newbie at this whole performing on Broadway thing, I probably need extra help.” My voice was low and it put a smile on Aaron’s face.  
Aaron agreed. We wanted the full effect so he enlaced his fingers in mine and pulled me into the other room. Once we were in his living room, he spoke. “Okay so imagine Skylar over there,” he pointed, “saying ‘Oblivious, Mimi and Roger share a small, lovely kiss.’ Here’s the thing though. The kiss isn’t really supposed to be small or lovely.”  
I nodded, smiling but my heart was racing, the same effect that Aaron had had on me since the very beginning.   
Aaron repeated Skylar’s line and then he kissed me. He was right. It wasn’t sweet or lovely. It was harsh. I clung to him, grabbing at his shirt and his hair. Our lips smashed together in harmony. Finally, I pulled away, wondering how long we were supposed to kiss for but not caring if it lasted forever.  
“Okay, one more time?” We repeated the exact same steps as before, except this time it was more desperate. I slid my leg right up next to Aaron’s and we both held each other close until it seemed like it had been long enough.   
Aaron was breathing heavily when he pulled away. “Well, then. I think we got that down. You sure you’re the opposite of Mimi?” He was joking but it made me blush because Mimi and I were not similar at all. I turned away from Aaron, shaking my head. He grabbed my wrist and gently pulled me back. “That was supposed to be a compliment.” He smiled and brushed my hair out of my face.   
I smiled, weakly, without showing my teeth. “Well, thank you, then. I guess. But I can prove it to you.”  
“Prove what?”  
“That we’re different.”  
“Oh yeah? How?”  
“We’re going to play ‘Never Have I Ever’ and I’m going to kick your ass.” I laughed, sitting at the table. Aaron plugged in his little indoor grill so that he could cook our chicken up. It had been marinating while we rehearsed. He left some of the marinade so that we could serve it over the chicken when it finished.   
We couldn’t play with alcohol obviously, due to past experiences, so we played with water instead. “I’ll go first, since I’m going to crush you.” Aaron gave a sassy smile and then let me go. “Never have I ever- oh, I’ll start with an easy one- Never have I ever been on Broadway.”  
“First, that wasn’t fair and second, that’s all going to change in a few weeks.” I shrugged, grinning. “Okay,” he said. “My turn. Never have I ever lived in New Hampshire.”  
I sighed. “You suck. Alright, hot stuff.” Aaron stood up to flip the chicken. “Never have I ever sung with Norbert Leo Butz.”  
“Again, not fair.” He flipped chicken while he talked. “You can’t keep going after my job.” But he got over it. “Okay, then. Never have I ever been late to rehearsal.”  
“Ah! That’s awful! And it so wasn’t my fault!” I groaned. “Okay, um… What the hell? Never have I ever had sex.” I hid behind my hands.


	15. Chapter 15

“Well, then.” Aaron blushed. “It’s a little early on in the game for that, don’t you think?”  
I shrugged, saying “The chicken’s probably done.”  
“You were right,” he said. “Dinner up.” Aaron scooped the chicken onto two plates and I spooned the rest of the marinade on. I went to sit back down at the table but Aaron helped me back up. “Uh-uh. We’re eating in the living room.”  
“Why?” I asked, following him anyway.  
“We’re going to listen to music and sing.”  
“While we eat?”  
“Mhmm.”   
I laughed but went along with it anyway. Aaron put on his RENT Pandora station so RENT came on most frequently but it also had a mixture of other show-tunes as well. Unfortunately for me, the first song that came on was “Out Tonight”, which meant I had to sing.  
“I want you to do this like you’re on stage though. Okay?”  
I raised an eyebrow but I continued. As the intro finished, I prepared myself. What’s the time? I checked an imaginary watch on my wrist. Well, it’s got to be close to midnight. My body’s talking to me. It says, ‘Time for danger’. I was dancing around the room but my movements were unlike me, once again. I had embodied Mimi just as I had on the day of my audition.  
When I got to the last verse, I began singing to Aaron, like I would in the show. He was sitting on the couch so I slithered towards him as I sang, Please take me out tonight. I placed one leg over both of his and it landed on the couch. Don’t forsake me, out tonight. I slid over so I was sitting on his lap, my legs bent on either side of him. I’ll let you make me out tonight. I leaned back while I sang the last line but kept my lower half just as close to Aaron. I sang Tonight three times and on the last one, I whispered it.   
I was ready to go right into “Another Day” but Pandora was not. Instead, it played me “Goodbye Love”, which in many ways was the opposite of “Out Tonight”. In “Goodbye Love”, I am broken and hurt and weak but in the mix of all this, I’m very pissed at Roger, or Aaron. We just skipped everyone else’s parts, except for our own. As I got off from Aaron’s lap, I gave him a quick kiss, silently apologizing for the beating on him that I do in “Goodbye Love.”  
I had my arms crossed as I sang the first line of the song. It’s true you sold your guitar and bought a car?  
Aaron’s words were soft yet harsh. It’s true. I’m leaving now for Santa Fe. It’s true you’re with this yuppie scum?  
We let Taye Diggs sing on the recording and I shortly interjected Not now before a few other people sang. Then I let myself get angry. I spit out the words, staring Aaron down as he pretended that he couldn’t care less. He was the same way. He was always run away, hit the road, don’t commit. You’re full of shit! When I yelled that last part, I ran towards Aaron and shoved him.   
I sang against Fredi Walker for a while on the recording until it got to Aaron’s part. He looked so angry that it actually hurt me. All your words are nice, Mimi, but love’s not a three-way street. You’ll never share real love, until you love yourself. I should know.  
We let the track play through Collins’ part and then when it was my turn to act, I turned to Aaron but he faced the wall and I threw my arms up in frustration before seating myself on the couch. Aaron sang along with the recording of Anthony and I couldn’t help but smile because I loved the way he was portraying Roger. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be able to watch Aaron do what he loves and then stand beside him each night and fall in love with him even more.  
I let real tears gather in my eyes as I went back on stage. Aaron sang You heard? and I softly replied Every word. I paused and then continued. You don’t want baggage without lifetime guarantees. You don’t want to watch me die.   
Aaron and I sang to each other before he left and I cried some more. Goodbye, love. Hello, disease.  
As soon as the song ended, I started laughing. I immediately switched out of Mimi-mode. “How do you do that?” Aaron asked me.   
“What?” I asked, still giggling and taking a few bites of my chicken, which was getting cold.  
“You just switched off, like that.” Aaron snapped his finger and paused Pandora so that we could eat.   
“I don’t know. It just happens. Plus, I love beating on you in that song.”  
Aaron laughed at me. “Good to know. So what’s more fun, getting to beat on me or getting to make out with me?”  
“I don’t know that’s a hard one.” I shrugged and we both laughed.  
“No fair.” Aaron had his arms around my shoulders and he kissed my cheek then whispered in my ear, “It’s way more fun to kiss you.”  
We were both cross-legged on the floor when someone knocked on Aaron’s door. I gave him a confused look. “Are you expecting someone?”  
Aaron shook his head as he stood up. I tucked my legs up into my chest and turned to face Aaron, who had reached the door. When the door opened, Skylar came crashing through with a bottle of something alcoholic in his hand. “Aaron!” The way he said it made me think that he had already been drinking a little bit. Skylar took a few steps into the apartment before he saw me. “Ooh, well, excuse me. I didn’t know I was interrupting your date with Emory.”  
My heart skipped a beat. Aaron and I hadn’t told anyone in the cast that we were dating. We didn’t want to be “that couple” and it wasn’t really any of their business.  
I blushed when Skylar said that and then retorted, “It’s nice to see you too, Skylar.” I wondered if he would remember any of this tomorrow.  
“It is very good to see you, Emory.” Skylar came over and he kissed my cheek, just as Aaron had minutes before. It was different this time, though. Skylar’s kiss was rough, smelled of alcohol and was far from evoking any kind of romantic feeling. Skylar sat down next to me and Aaron returned.   
“So what were you doing before I got here?”  
“Eating.” Aaron looked displeased by Skylar and his drunken stupor.  
“Sorry to interrupt,” Skylar slurred.  
“You know what, bud?” Aaron said to Skylar. “I think you need to sleep this off because you are going to have a long day tomorrow.”  
“Shit,” Skylar whispered. “I don’t know the words to La Vie Boheme.”  
Aaron walked Skylar out of the apartment and down the street. I watched as Aaron hailed a cab for Skylar and helped him in. I ran my fingers through my messy hair that was just starting to dry. I heard Aaron come in but I stayed facing the window, watching the chaos of New York City twenty feet below me. Aaron came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. “You okay?”  
I nodded and sat back down on the floor. “Do you really think we can keep “us” a secret?”  
“You know what? I don’t really know. If people keep showing up, probably not. Why? Do you think we should tell them?”  
“I don’t know. It’s just hard to get close to people when they don’t know such a huge part of my life. I’m not saying we should post it on Instagram or Twitter but maybe we should tell the cast. I mean, our families know and this cast is becoming our family so maybe they have a right too.”  
“If that’s what you want then I’m okay with it.” Aaron kissed my head and we headed into the kitchen to do the dishes.  
Eventually, the two of us settled on the couch to play a game of cards, something we had taken to when we were offstage during rehearsal, which wasn’t very often, but still.   
I stayed at Aaron’s until about ten and then I decided to go home and get some sleep. I kissed Aaron as I opened the door to leave his apartment but he stopped me.   
“Hey I was thinking that it just makes sense for us to carpool to work, since, you know, we live so close and we’re going to the same place.”   
I nodded. “I would love that.”


	16. Chapter 16

I fell asleep almost as soon as I got home and only woke up when my alarm began to sing to me. Then I quickly got undressed and hopped into the shower. I let the water run over my hair and the rest of body while I recounted the events of the last month. I used to be a poor college student and here I was making $2000/week, about to be on Broadway. And yet the best part of my life was that I had an amazing boyfriend who happened to like me a lot. Lots of thoughts swirled through my head as I got out of the shower and quickly dried my hair with the quiet hair dryer that Kourt had gotten me after I woke her up with my old one on Day One.  
Then I shimmied into my clothes and glanced out at my clock. It was around 7:30 so I brushed waterproof, or really sweat proof, mascara onto my lashes. Then I found my bag to go to rehearsal and I repacked it. I made sure that I had my libretto and a pencil to write in my blocking. I scrambled trying to find a new stick of deodorant since I ran out yesterday. Then I remembered that I had some in an old backpack so I hurried off quietly to find it. After a few minutes, that too was packed in my bag, along with at least five water bottles, an apple, rice cakes, and some saltines. I also made sure I had ibuprofen for about halfway through when I started to get sore.   
I checked the clock and decided to start heading out. I slung my bag over my shoulder and opened the door to my bedroom. I was looking back to make sure the door closed all the way when I crashed into Derek.   
“Thanks for waking me up.”  
I stumbled, trying to get around him but his large body blocked me. “I’m sorry. I was trying to be quiet.” I moved again but Derek had barricaded me back against the door to my room. He was pressed up against me and I felt each of his breaths on my forehead.   
“Where do you think you’re going?”  
“Derek, c’mon. I have to get to work. My ride’s going to be here any minute.” Finally, I gathered enough strength to push past him but as soon as I did, I felt Derek’s hands on my shoulder blades. Then I tumbled, landing face first on the floor. I got rug burn on my hands that had tried desperately to break the fall. Just as my head hit the ground, I cried out in pain. Seconds later, Aaron came crashing through the door.  
He saw me on the floor and ran over, his eyes falling on Derek as I began to sit up. “What happened?”  
“I just tripped going out. You know me, clumsy as all get out.” I looked nervously to Derek as the lie slid off my tongue. Then I gave Aaron a weak smile as he helped me to my feet. I could tell he didn’t believe me, at least completely but he wasn’t going to question me here.  
I didn’t even look back at Derek as we left my apartment and as soon as we were out the door, Aaron placed a gentle finger on my forehead. “You’re bleeding, Em.”  
“It’s fine.” I pushed his hand away. “Can we just go?”  
A hurt look of confusion crossed over Aaron’s face but he helped me down the stairs anyway. When we got to the car, he held my hands in his and asked me once more what happened in there. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth.   
“I told you, I’m fine. I just tripped over something.” I smiled and squeezed his hand. “I’m good.”  
Aaron just sighed and pulled out of the parking spot and started driving to the studio. When we got there, he helped me out of the car. “We need to get you a band-aid or something.” I nodded and plopped a few pills of ibuprofen in my mouth before we headed in.  
I was immediately greeted by Tracie, who had returned from the movie cast to be in the revival. She had become somewhat of a mother figure to me over the last few days, already. “Babygirl, what happened?”  
“She tripped,” Aaron answered with an edge to his voice. I gave another weak smile to Tracie, who helped me into the rehearsal room along with Aaron. She found a med kit and brought a bandage over to me. We put it on my head just as Skylar came in.   
“What the hell happened, Em? I thought you were safe with Aaron when I left last night.” There was an underlying jab to what he said but I let it go just as Tracie gave me a look complete with raised eyebrows.  
“I tripped on the way out of my apartment this morning, Sky. I’m fine.”  
“So you keep saying,” Aaron muttered.   
Soon enough, my tumble was old news and we were ready to get started. I downed a water bottle and we started rehearsing. 

I made it through that hellish rehearsal without any serious damage to myself. When I got out though, it was the best feeling because I knew that I had made it through. Aaron and I had stayed after a few minutes to rerun I Should Tell You with Matt. When our director was satisfied, we were allowed to leave.   
I got into Aaron’s car without saying a word to him. As he drove, the events of the day washed over me and suddenly, I couldn’t take it anymore and I began to cry. I sobbed silently and Aaron didn’t notice until we pulled up at a stop light and he looked over at me.   
“Em? What’s wrong?”  
“I lied to you. I didn’t trip. Derek pushed me because I woke him up this morning when I was getting ready.”  
“Emory,” he whispered, taking his foot off the break and letting the car move forward with traffic. “Has this happened before?”   
I didn’t answer. I just let the tears flow as we pulled up to my apartment. Aaron put the car in park but neither of us moved.   
We sat in silence for a few minutes, with me crying, my face hidden by the palms of my hands, and Aaron rubbing my shoulder gently. Finally, I looked up at Aaron. “Do you mind if I stay at your place tonight?”  
“Of course,” he whispered.   
We went upstairs to my empty apartment and I grabbed the stuff I needed. Thankfully, Kourt was at work and Derek was God knows where. We silently moved around my room and then walked down the stairs back to the safety of Aaron’s car.   
When we arrived at his place, I let him help me up to his apartment. I collapsed on his bed. He put both of our bags down my the door to his bedroom and then he crawled into bed with me and snuggled up close to me. He held me close and didn’t force me to talk. He just let me cry into his chest. I wished for my tears to cease but it felt as if they continued for an eternity. When the tears finally stopped falling, I looked up at Aaron.  
I muffled a giggle as I realized he had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around me. I wiggled out of his grasp and let him sleep as I wandered around the kitchen, looking for something to cook him for dinner. I pulled his gluten free pasta out of the cabinet and turned on a burner, placing a pot full of water atop the warming surface.   
Then I put a pan on another burner, heating that one as well. I dropped some sausage into the pan and searing up the meat before adding some spaghetti sauce.   
I turned some quiet music on, playing the RENT soundtrack so the lyrics would be ingrained in my head. La Vie Boheme was a killer.   
I was dancing around the kitchen and cooking dinner when I heard the text chime go off on my phone.   
KOURT: “Saw your toothbrush and stuff was gone. Are you not coming home tonight?”  
ME: “Staying at Aaron’s. See you later this week.”  
KOURT: “K.”  
I scoffed at my phone and Kourt’s reply, putting it on the counter and finishing up the final touches on dinner.  
I found plates and arranged the pasta on them, plopping the sauce on top. I went into Aaron’s room to discover that he was exactly where I had left him.   
I crawled onto the bed and placed a gentle hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Aaron…” I whispered. “I made you dinner.”  
His eyes opened and he groggily rolled out of bed. I led him to the kitchen, where our plates patiently waited on the table.   
Aaron thanked me as we sat down at the table and ate our dinner. I did the dishes again and Aaron found a movie for us to watch on tv. I tried paying attention to the movie but I couldn’t. I kept fidgeting and Aaron noticed.   
I turned to him. “Can we just sing through the show? I’m in one of those moods.”  
Aaron smiled. “The mood where you just have to sing and belt it out? I know those. Yes, we can sing through the show.”  
He put on the Original Broadway Cast recording and we sang through every song that either of us were in, our librettos laid out in front of us. It was clear though, even after just getting through Light My Candle, that this show was meant for movement so Aaron and I acted out the rest of the songs, doing every kiss written in the book and maybe even a little more.   
It was magical, actually, seeing the show come together this way, even though it was just the two of us. I had loved this show as long as I could remember. It was the first show I ever truly loved and it was unbelievable that I was actually a part of bringing it back to life and reviving it.  
We watched tv for a little bit but Aaron knew I was getting tired. I brushed my teeth in Aaron’s bathroom and when I came back into his room, he was all set up on his side of the bed and I crawled in without even a second thought. Even though I wasn’t sure that this often came so quickly in a relationship, I reminded myself that my favorite place to be was in his arms and there was nothing wrong with that.


	17. Chapter 17

Thankfully, Aaron had remembered to set an alarm because it had completely slipped my mind.   
I quickly got dressed and went out to find Aaron. He handed me a coffee mug as I entered the kitchen. There were blueberry muffins out on the table.   
“These,” he motioned to them, “were for yesterday morning but I figured that it was better to wait.” I smiled and then took my first sip of coffee.   
“This is delicious, Aar. Thank you!” I told him as I sat down to eat my muffin.  
We barely talked through breakfast because I was too busy stuffing my face. I gave him a huge hug, thanking him profusely and then I went into the bathroom. I threw my hair into a bun and brushed my teeth. I applied my daily makeup regimen, which was extremely minimal.  
While I was getting ready, Aaron knocked on the door. I told him I was covered and he entered the somewhat cramped space.  
“I think you should move in. You don’t have to sleep in the bed with me. I have an extra room that’s just storage right now but we can get it squared away. Or I can sleep in there and you can have my room if you want it but I don’t want you living with Kourt and Derek anymore.”  
My breath caught and then I replied, “That’s really nice but it’s okay. I can’t leave Kourt there alone, anyway. She’s family.”  
“Kourt is doing this to herself. I want you safe, okay? I thought about it and it’s not really up for negotiation because I love you and I want you where I can keep an eye on you. You’ve only been living there for just over a week. It’s not like she’ll hate you for it.” Aaron squeezed my shoulder gently and then left the room. I sighed and then finished getting ready because apparently there was nothing else I could do.  
As we got into the car, another question dawned on me. “What excuse do I have for moving? Derek will know that it’s because I told you what happened yesterday morning.”  
“We’ll tell him you have to move somewhere else so that you are less prone to clumsiness and if he doesn’t listen, I’ll pop that bastard one across his chiselled cheek bones.”  
I smiled, placing a hand gently on Aaron’s face. “Thank you. For everything.”  
He shifted the car into drive and we were off to rehearsal again. When we got to the building, Aaron parked the car but he didn’t leave the car just yet. He placed a hand on my thigh and looked me in the eye with his own gorgeous blue ones.  
“So obviously yesterday wasn’t the day but what are you thinking about telling everyone?”  
I let out a deep sigh. “I mean, I guess we could just act how normally do at your place and then let everyone figure it out. I don’t think a big announcement is really necessary.”  
“Okay,” Aaron whispered, placing a sweet kiss on my forehead. “Let’s head in before you make me late for rehearsal.”  
I playfully pushed him, feeling an ache in my heart as I did so, my mind flashing back to the previous morning with Derek. I tried to laugh but it got caught in my throat so I just smiled and grabbed my bag out of the back before heading in with Aaron. We climbed the stairs and just as we got to the door, Aaron grabbed my hand in his. We both took deep breaths and then stepped inside what seemed like a whole new world.  
My heart was beating fast as I noticed heads dropping down to when my fingers intertwined with Aaron’s. Tracie was the first to come over and say, “So how long has this been going on?”  
“A couple of weeks,” I smiled. “Basically since we met. I was head over heels before I even met him,” I whispered to Tracie behind my hand.  
“I’m happy for you two,” she grinned, rubbing my shoulder.  
The only other person who had a very strong reaction was Skylar but I think that everyone else kind of saw it coming. Skylar had too, or so he repeated to us multiple times over the course of the day. He was just upset that we didn’t tell him. Or at least that’s what he said. Aaron was convinced that Skylar actually had feelings for me and he was hurt that he didn’t actually have a chance with me but I told Aaron that was ridiculous.  
As we neared the end of our rehearsal I began to get very nervous about going back to Kourt’s place to get my stuff. I had decided to pack up and just leave a note since she would be at work. While we packed up the last of our stuff at the studio, Aaron and I made a plan for going back to Kourt’s. I would just go in and pack up as much as I could and Aaron would go grab us dinner. I promised to text Aaron when I was almost ready so he could come pick me up.  
He kissed me quickly when he dropped me off. “Be safe,” he whispered.   
“I will.” I squeezed his hand and then headed inside. Because Kourt was at work, I doubted Derek would be home and he wasn’t. Thankfully a lot of my stuff was still in boxes from the move into Kourt’s I found a few empty boxes and started packing up my comforter, my toiletries, and other assorted things. I used another two boxes for my clothes. It was when I was packing up all my clothes that I looked down and realized how sweaty I was. It was a special night so I picked out a cute dress and laid it on my bed. I went and found a sweater to go over it and then I began stripping down. I put on a new bra that wasn’t so sweaty and I was standing facing my bed when I felt a hand slide down my back and around to my stomach. Startled, I jumped and turned to face whoever was behind me. My heart dropped as I saw Derek. I let out a scream as he covered my mouth and used his other hand to shove me back onto my bed. I threw my body over onto my hands and knees and crawled up to the head of my bed. I tried to reach out for the lamp that was by my bedside but Derek grabbed my arm and flung me back onto my back.   
His large frame covered mine as he straddled my hips. Sobs rang out from my lips as my upper body shook, my legs and waist locked into place by his heavy weight on me. “Please, Derek. Stop. Aaron will be here soon to get me.” Derek didn’t stop he ripped my underwear off and then his own. I let out another blood-curdling scream as I realized what he was about to do. But no one heard me. New York. The loneliest city in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took so long. Hopefully uploading multiple chapters today!


	18. Chapter 18

When Aaron found me, I was laying on my bed. There was blood on the bed and tears stained my face. Derek had pounded into me for an eternity then left when he saw the blood that he was drawing. He didn’t know that he was raping a virgin and that if he was rough with me like he was that I would bleed. He got scared and he ran. He left me there with nothing. With no one. I hadn’t moved since he left, terrified that he would come back.   
Aaron knew something was wrong when I didn’t call. He had dropped me off hours ago and I didn’t have that much stuff to pack up. He walked up the stairs and found the apartment door slightly ajar. His heart had sped up and he had raced to my room where he found me, bloody and paralyzed. I probably could have moved but I felt like I was trapped in a box, unable to even wiggle a finger.  
Aaron ran to me and cried out, asking me what had happened. I cried some more and whispered an incoherent sentence about Derek. Aaron wasted no time in throwing a big t-shirt over my head and carrying me out to the car. He sped to the nearest hospital and called 911 on the way.  
“Hi,” he said, his voice as frantic as my heart rate. “I’d like to report a crime.”  
He gave the police my name, address, Derek’s name, and all of the information that they asked for before we pulled up to the hospital. Aaron ran in and got a nurse with a wheelchair. I could hear him yelling from inside the car.   
“She needs help. She was RAPED.”  
Even the word itself sounds so dirty. Like me. I’m dirty now. I’ll never be able to lose my virginity to someone I love. I cried more and barely even noticed all of the faces around me as they carted me into the hospital. Everything was blurry. Aaron told me later that they did a rape kit and got samples. He told me that I was strong and beautiful and that I would get through this.   
The only thing I remember from that night was Aaron asking if it was okay to Matt what had happened. I knew he had to know so I nodded. Aaron came back to tell me that I was allowed to take as much time off from work as I needed.  
I slept in Aaron’s bed that night and he slept on the couch until I woke up screaming. I sat watching tv and Aaron fell asleep beside me until his alarm went off in the morning. I only got about two hours of sleep at most but every time I fell asleep, I saw him again. Aaron moved quietly around the room as I pretended to be asleep. I didn’t want to talk and I knew he wouldn’t make me but he would want to check on me.  
I couldn’t even look at him. He was so handsome and so pure and I was dirty and disgusting. I cried for a while after he left. I turned to my side and grabbed the snacks and water that Aaron had left by the bed for me. I flipped through channels until I found something so sweet that it made my teeth hurt. I couldn’t face real problems or even fictional ones.   
When Aaron came home from work, I feigned sleep as well but I heard him come in and sit beside me on the bed. I felt his weight shift as he reached out to touch me but then he pulled away. He didn’t want to touch me.   
We continued in this pattern for a week. I would fake sleep and he would be careful not to wake me. Sometimes he would bring dinner and leave it by the bedside. I didn’t get out of bed much. I didn’t change. I couldn’t look at myself naked.   
Eventually, I heard him on the phone. “I love her so much. I don’t want her to think this changes anything. It doesn’t. I want to help her but I don’t know how.”   
He still loves me. He wants me anyway. The words sunk in and gave me the strength to get up and get out of bed. I stood in the doorway and watched him on the phone until he noticed me, whispered that he had to go and rushed to my side.   
“How do you feel beautiful? I’ve missed you.”  
My voice was weak, since I hadn’t talked in days. “I’ve missed you too.” I let myself collapse in his arms. He held me close and I shivered at his touch. Contact was something to which I had to be reaclimated. I returned to work the next day and even someone putting a hand on my shoulder sent shivers down my spine.   
Aaron had set up the guest room for me while I was on leave and that was where I began to sleep each night. Sometimes Aaron would join me because he had heard me crying. Other nights I was okay. It got better as I went on. Each day was a new battle but each was one that I won. That is, until the day I had to go to court.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been taking so long but I just found out that I'm going to see Aaron in August so hopefully that will spark some inspiration. Thanks so much to those who continuing following this story, despite how long it takes me to post. You have no idea how much it means to know that someone is reading this stuff.

The police had arrested Derek a few days after the rape. The evidence collected from Kourt’s apartment and the DNA sample from the hospital was enough to lock him away but the prosecution wanted a testimony from me. Aaron and I had the morning off and just rehearsal in the afternoon since we were nearing opening night.   
We got ready at 7 and arrived at court at 8. I checked my phone as we reached the courthouse and I almost dropped my phone. I had two messages. One from Kourt and one from my mother.   
KOURT: Don’t do it. He knows people, Emory. You’re making a big mistake.

MOM: Emory. You are tearing apart our family. Kourt is pregnant. You can’t send the baby’s father to jail.

What neither of them realized was that the court didn’t need my testimony. They had physical evidence to convict.   
I got another text just before I took the stand. 

AARON: I love you and when this is over, I’m taking you out.

I smiled, because he had texted me, even though he was sitting right next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder just as the officials appeared to take me in.  
I was sworn in quickly and I shook as I stepped up to take the stand. I repeated my name and then the prosecutor began to ask questions. Her questions were simple and clearly placed the blame on Derek, highlighting my lack of experience and the previous injury I had sustained.  
When the defense attorney stood up, I trembled. He looked very mean and determined. “Is it true, Ms. Rosen, that you were already partially unclothed when Derek approached you?”  
I cleared my throat. “Um, yes. I was changing out of sweaty clothes.”  
“Did you leave your bedroom door open, making it visible to the defendant that you were wearing minimal clothing?”  
“Yes but…”  
“No further questions, Your Honor.”  
When I left the testimony, I felt ready to throw up. I ran to the bathroom and Aaron followed me to the door. I sat on the floor of the bathroom for a good ten minutes. Then I wiped my tears and my mouth and walked out with confidence.   
Aaron took me out for brunch and I tried to forget about Derek and the trial. That was pretty hard to do when Kourt walked in. She sauntered over and picked up take-out. I leaned over and pretended to be looking at something on the wall so she didn’t see me but she did anyway.   
She came up behind me while Aaron was looking intently at his menu and grabbed my hair. She yanked me backwards, the skidding of my chair drawing the eyes of everyone in the restaurant. Aaron started yelling, his eyes locked on the fear in mine. Then he stood and grabbed Kourt by the shoulders. He didn’t dare hurt her because of the baby but he was pulling her away saying, “We’ll charge you with assault. Get out of here now!” Kourt tried to swing at Aaron as well and I let out a bloodcurdling scream before I watched as he caught her hand mid-air. His voice was gruff and he spat, “Leave.” And she did. Everyone in the restaurant gave us odd looks for the rest of brunch and I was still shaken when we walked back out onto the New York City streets.  
It had been easier to play Mimi lately. I felt like I could really connect with how raw she felt all the time and how she loved Roger because he made her feel safe, as Aaron did for me. She was damaged and so was I. Aaron and I went home, packed some snacks for rehearsal and headed out. We walked quietly to the theater and Aaron hugged me close before we went inside. “I am so proud of you and I am so happy to be on this journey with you and I just need you to always remember that.”  
He kissed me gently on the forehead as we went into the theater. I was so grateful for Aaron and the support he had given me over the past few months. Honestly, the entire cast had been amazing. People would bring me drinks and check on me, which might have been annoying to anyone else but for someone whose parents obviously didn’t care, it was nice to know that someone did.   
As we entered the theater, we sat in the house while Matt discussed a few last things with the technical director. “Okay, guys,” he addressed most of the cast. “Two run-throughs today and then tomorrow, I expect all of you here all day to tech. Comprendes?”  
“Comprendo,” we replied before rising and doing vocal warm-ups with our musical director. The plan was to run through the show once, order dinner in for the whole cast and then run the show again. There was a huge case of water backstage with at least four water bottles for each cast member in it. My songs were slightly scattered throughout the first act but Aaron came up to me before we started and gave me a good luck kiss before he went onstage, as he did before most performances.   
I stood backstage, as I often did, despite rules against it to keep the space cleared for set pieces and people who actually needed to get to the stage but I think they had made a lot of exceptions for me at RENT. I loved watching Aaron onstage. It was like seeing the real him through watching him play someone else. I felt incredibly lucky to get to witness his talent and then share the stage with him every night. Soon enough, it was time for me to get onstage and do what I love.   
At dinner break, I got a call from the DA’s office. “Yes?” I answered.   
“Ms. Rosen, you may want to get down to the courthouse.”  
“I’m sorry. Is something wrong?”  
“Please. Just get down here as soon as possible.” And then the call ended.


	20. Chapter 20

The police had arrested Derek a few days after the rape. The evidence collected from Kourt’s apartment and the DNA sample from the hospital was enough to lock him away but the prosecution wanted a testimony from me. Aaron and I had the morning off and just rehearsal in the afternoon since we were nearing opening night.   
We got ready at 7 and arrived at court at 8. I checked my phone as we reached the courthouse and I almost dropped my phone. I had two messages. One from Kourt and one from my mother.   
KOURT: Don’t do it. He knows people, Emory. You’re making a big mistake.

MOM: Emory. You are tearing apart our family. Kourt is pregnant. You can’t send the baby’s father to jail.

What neither of them realized was that the court didn’t need my testimony. They had physical evidence to convict.   
I got another text just before I took the stand. 

AARON: I love you and when this is over, I’m taking you out.

I smiled, because he had texted me, even though he was sitting right next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder just as the officials appeared to take me in.  
I was sworn in quickly and I shook as I stepped up to take the stand. I repeated my name and then the prosecutor began to ask questions. Her questions were simple and clearly placed the blame on Derek, highlighting my lack of experience and the previous injury I had sustained.  
When the defense attorney stood up, I trembled. He looked very mean and determined. “Is it true, Ms. Rosen, that you were already partially unclothed when Derek approached you?”  
I cleared my throat. “Um, yes. I was changing out of sweaty clothes.”  
“Did you leave your bedroom door open, making it visible to the defendant that you were wearing minimal clothing?”  
“Yes but…”  
“No further questions, Your Honor.”  
When I left the testimony, I felt ready to throw up. I ran to the bathroom and Aaron followed me to the door. I sat on the floor of the bathroom for a good ten minutes. Then I wiped my tears and my mouth and walked out with confidence.   
Aaron took me out for brunch and I tried to forget about Derek and the trial. That was pretty hard to do when Kourt walked in. She sauntered over and picked up take-out. I leaned over and pretended to be looking at something on the wall so she didn’t see me but she did anyway.   
She came up behind me while Aaron was looking intently at his menu and grabbed my hair. She yanked me backwards, the skidding of my chair drawing the eyes of everyone in the restaurant. Aaron started yelling, his eyes locked on the fear in mine. Then he stood and grabbed Kourt by the shoulders. He didn’t dare hurt her because of the baby but he was pulling her away saying, “We’ll charge you with assault. Get out of here now!” Kourt tried to swing at Aaron as well and I let out a bloodcurdling scream before I watched as he caught her hand mid-air. His voice was gruff and he spat, “Leave.” And she did. Everyone in the restaurant gave us odd looks for the rest of brunch and I was still shaken when we walked back out onto the New York City streets.  
It had been easier to play Mimi lately. I felt like I could really connect with how raw she felt all the time and how she loved Roger because he made her feel safe, as Aaron did for me. She was damaged and so was I. Aaron and I went home, packed some snacks for rehearsal and headed out. We walked quietly to the theater and Aaron hugged me close before we went inside. “I am so proud of you and I am so happy to be on this journey with you and I just need you to always remember that.”  
He kissed me gently on the forehead as we went into the theater. I was so grateful for Aaron and the support he had given me over the past few months. Honestly, the entire cast had been amazing. People would bring me drinks and check on me, which might have been annoying to anyone else but for someone whose parents obviously didn’t care, it was nice to know that someone did.   
As we entered the theater, we sat in the house while Matt discussed a few last things with the technical director. “Okay, guys,” he addressed most of the cast. “Two run-throughs today and then tomorrow, I expect all of you here all day to tech. Comprendes?”  
“Comprendo,” we replied before rising and doing vocal warm-ups with our musical director. The plan was to run through the show once, order dinner in for the whole cast and then run the show again. There was a huge case of water backstage with at least four water bottles for each cast member in it. My songs were slightly scattered throughout the first act but Aaron came up to me before we started and gave me a good luck kiss before he went onstage, as he did before most performances.   
I stood backstage, as I often did, despite rules against it to keep the space cleared for set pieces and people who actually needed to get to the stage but I think they had made a lot of exceptions for me at RENT. I loved watching Aaron onstage. It was like seeing the real him through watching him play someone else. I felt incredibly lucky to get to witness his talent and then share the stage with him every night. Soon enough, it was time for me to get onstage and do what I love.   
At dinner break, I got a call from the DA’s office. “Yes?” I answered.   
“Ms. Rosen, you may want to get down to the courthouse.”  
“I’m sorry. Is something wrong?”  
“Please. Just get down here as soon as possible.” And then the call ended.   
\----------  
I went to find Matt and told him I would be right back. I had no idea what the issue was so I didn’t know how long it would take. Aaron was insistent that he wanted to come with me but I told him that if it took hours, Matt needed him here and Aaron knew that was true. Still, I promised immediate updates as soon as I knew what was going on.   
When I arrived in the courtroom, something was off in the air. I entered and sat in the row behind the prosecutor, who explained that Derek had confessed during his testimony. The jury was deliberating now and they would be out with the verdict soon. The prosecutor said that this was plenty to convict on, obviously, because of the DNA evidence and the confession. He said it should be an easy decision for the jury. It was about twenty minutes before the jury returned to the courtroom. My heart sped up as I watched the verdict be passed around on a simple white piece of paper. How clean it was, unlike Derek. And unlike me.   
I held my breath as they read the sheet of paper. “On the charge of rape in the first degree, Derek S. Milligan is found guilty as charged.” Tears of relief flooded down my cheeks as I ran out of the courtroom. I called Aaron on my way out. At first, he misinterpreted my tears but as soon as I could get full sentences out, I whispered, “He’s done. He confessed and he’s going to be locked away.” I called a taxi and drove right to the theater. I got there just as we were about to start the show from the top. I ran into Aaron’s arms and collapsed. Although I felt stronger now, my body was weak with the stress of the day.   
Aaron held me close and kissed my forehead as I cried tears of joy until the stage manager called places. Then he looked into my eyes and said, “I love you and I’m glad that bastard is going away because if he ever stepped near you again, he would be going six feet under instead.”  
Aaron wasn’t violent but he was ferociously protective. I knew he couldn’t kill someone. I wouldn’t let him. He was too kind and caring to take someone’s life but it meant the world that he said he would for me. I was beginning to doubt there were many things Aaron wouldn’t do for me and yet in turn, there are few things I wouldn’t do for him as well.


	21. Chapter 21

We found out later that Derek was sentenced to ten years in prison but that wasn’t what was on my mind. Instead, I was fearlessly throwing myself into rehearsals. After all, it was finally opening week. Our first night before an audience was set for Thursday, which meant that I had five days to perfect my role and characterization. I wasn’t getting many notes anymore but I was still getting more than the rest of the cast.   
Aaron and I practiced every night and each night, I watched him sleep peacefully as I got more and more nervous, unsure if I was doing what I was really meant to do. I would lay, unable to sleep, now for a completely different reason. I would sit by Aaron’s bed with a book in my hand so if he woke up, I would have a reason for why I wasn’t in bed. I would think and think about what was happening in my life, reflecting on the opportunities I was given and wondering how I could possibly deserve them. I’d stare at Aaron and cry out of pure joy and being overwhelmed by gratitude.   
Then, each morning, about two hours before my alarm was set to go off, I would crawl into my bed, drowsy as hell, and sleep until I absolutely had to wake up. Aaron would wake up each morning and ask me how I was tired and I would just shrug him off. I was still able to give my all at rehearsal because I had never wanted something more in my life.   
All I wanted was to stand on that stage or twirl my hips on that stage and put a smile on the audience’s faces and tears in their eyes. I wanted to make my boyfriend proud. I wanted to make Matt and the rest of the cast and crew proud. And I wanted to be proud of myself. I hadn’t been able to love myself as much lately, after the incident with Derek. But this show, these people, made me really want to.   
And of course the costumes really helped. Aaron and I had been working out each night for the last month to make sure I was ready to bare my abdomen onstage every night. I asked Aaron one night how he felt about my costumes and he told me that as long as I felt good in them, it didn’t matter. And I told him not to worry because there were still parts of me that were for his eyes only.   
Aaron and I hadn’t done much more than heavily making out and he definitely didn’t pressure me for more but I couldn’t help feeling that there was a natural progression to our relationship that we weren’t following. Not that we had followed it when we met either but it just felt like we were doing it wrong.   
Thankfully, I would have someone to talk to soon. Dani was coming to see RENT. I gave her my comp tickets because my parents and I weren’t exactly on speaking terms since they gave me the wonderful advice during Derek’s trial. She and Jacob were coming to see us on Saturday and then Aaron and I were going out with them.   
Some nights, if I wasn’t too tired and Aaron felt like it, I would let him sit outside the shower and he would sing to me while I washed myself off. Then when I finished he would hand me my towel and wait in his bedroom. On Wednesday night of opening week, he was singing to me and he went to give me my towel but I caught his hand. Peeking my head out from behind the shower curtain, I whispered, “Wait.” I took the towel, wrapped it around myself and stepped out of the shower. I stood before Aaron with sopping wet hair and my body dripping with water but something about the way he had sung “Nice and Slow” had killed me in exactly the way he had wanted to. I slid my fingers behind his ears and dug my fingers into his hair. I pulled him in towards me and tapped my lips along his jawline. I let myself tease him until he was worked up by me in the same way he had gotten me all worked up. Not knowing where to put his hands, Aaron had kept them by his side but I took them within mine and placed them on my hips, letting him do the rest of the work by drawing circles up my back until they found bare skin at my shoulders and massaging me. He took my hair in one of his hands and tilted my head back so he could grant himself access to my collarbone, where he planted a million kisses and I moaned. I worked my hands over his body and lifted his shirt over his head. Aaron too had been working on his physique for this role and I was very impressed. Aaron lifted me, allowing me to wrap around him while he continued to plant kisses up my neck. He carried me to the bedroom and tossed my down onto the comfort of his mattress. I rushed to undo the towel. I tossed it over the edge of the bed and laid down in the center of Aaron’s big bed. As he watched me and examined me, tears came to his eyes. I watched him collapse onto the floor and I rushed to the side of the bed, watching him sitting crumpled on the floor.   
“Baby… Babe, what’s wrong?” I whispered, tucking my arms around him.   
“You. You’re so perfect and I don’t know how anyone could ever hurt you. But he did and now because of him, I can’t love you the way I want to because I don’t want to hurt you the way he did.”   
I held Aaron’s face in mine as tears came to my eyes as well. “You could never hurt me the way he did. Aaron… Aaron, look at me. I love you. I’m so in love with you and I can’t believe that somehow I’m lucky enough to be on this journey with you. I want this and I want you.”  
His eyes fixated on mine as he bent his head towards me and rested his forehead on mine. “Opening night.”   
I nodded, planting a kiss on his lips. “Opening night.”  
\----------  
There was a new closeness between Aaron and I from then on and we consciously made the decision to sleep in the same bed. As we fell asleep, Aaron had his arms wrapped around me and was drawing circles on my back through my thin t-shirt. My hand was over his heart and I could feel it beating rapidly.   
“Baby, your heart is beating really fast.”  
His head shifted so he could look at me. “What can I say? You’ve had that effect on me since the moment we met.”  
“You mean, the moment you knocked me on my ass?”  
“Okay, yes but I definitely made up for it.”  
“True. Can you imagine if we hadn’t bumped into each other that day? I would’ve just been another girl in one of Farlow’s class and I sure as hell wouldn’t be here.”  
“I don’t know, Em. I think we were destined to be together. I can’t imagine us not together like we are now.”  
“Good. That’s the way I like it. You and me, right here, like this.” And for the first time in over a week, I got a good night of sleep.  
\---------  
The last day of rehearsals was insane. Matt didn’t want to keep us late so we would get plenty of sleep. He also didn’t want to overwork us so we had rehearsal from 12 to 5. As we all met for our last pre-rehearsal meeting, Aaron took my hand in his and then rested both of them on my thigh.   
Then Matt began to speak and I don’t think anyone left without tearing up just a little. He spoke of our strength and courage as a cast. He spoke of the meaning of this show and reminded us that we were continuing the legacy of Jonathan Larson. We were all here because we were chosen to tell his story. And each one of us, he said, was perfectly cast. Matt told us he was grateful to have such an amazing cast to work with and that we were going to blow everyone away with our performances.   
And then we were off. We ran the show twice all the way through. It was a surprising feeling to be so close to opening night and still have enough energy to make it all the way through the show. Of course, the exhaustion caught up with me when I got home, along with some other feelings.  
Aaron opened the door to our apartment just as my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and immediately groaned seeing a text from my mother. I opened the text anyway. 

MOM: Sorry to hear that we weren’t invited to your opening. I was looking forward to seeing you.

“What a load of BULLSHIT!” I screamed as Aaron closed the door. “She doesn’t want to come. She just wants to make me feel bad.”  
I fell to the ground and Aaron read the text over my shoulder. He sat with me as the anger bubbled. “You don’t owe her anything. She chose Kourt over you and that is unforgivable in my eyes. If you chose to still have a relationship with her, I would support you but right now, she hasn’t even apologized. You gave your tickets to people who will actually support you and that was the right thing to do.”   
Aaron’s parents couldn’t be there opening night but they would be there Friday and we were having dinner with them around four because our call was five thirty at the theater for the eight o’clock show. Aaron said his brother, Jon, would also be there. I was incredibly nervous to meet his family but also excited. I just hoped that they liked me and didn’t comment on the ten year age gap. After all, it shouldn’t matter.   
“You know what?” I said. “I don’t care.” I put my phone down on the ground and pulled myself onto Aaron’s lap, straddling his hips. “What I do care about is my amazingly attractive boyfriend and how hot he’s going to look when I take all his clothes off tomorrow night.” I kissed him down his neck and along his collarbone. I felt his growl in the back of his throat. I pulled away and looked at him. I had to remind myself that this was Aaron. This was my love. He wasn’t Derek. But it brought tears to my eyes anyway.   
I didn’t have to mutter a single word for Aaron to know what was going on. He tugged me closer to him and wrapped his arms as tight as they would go around me without hurting me. The pressure helped but the tears still fell. And fell. And fell.


	22. Chapter 22

We sat there on the floor for probably a half an hour. When I stopped crying, Aaron helped me up and then pulled out our takeout menus for dinner. We decided on Chinese and called in the order. I changed into a nicer outfit and frankly one I felt more confident in and then we walked to the Chinese place. Aaron took my hand in his and before we walked out the door, I thanked him. For everything. For the support and for reminding me that there was nothing wrong with me. He just planted a kiss on my forehead and told me that he would do anything for me.  
We grabbed our Chinese food and brought it to Central Park, where we had a picnic. It was our last night before my life changed even more than it already had. After tomorrow night, critics would know my name. People wouldn’t wonder about the no-name who landed the role of Mimi in the revival of RENT. The audience would either love me or hate me but it wouldn’t matter as long as I knew I did the best I could. After two months of practicing every day for almost the entirety of each day, I knew Mimi better than I knew myself.   
“Em… I have something I need to talk to you about…”  
“Yeah, babe?” I said, between bites of crab rangoon.   
“Well, I was talking to Matt and he said that you need to make sure you sign your contract before we open but there’s something else too.”  
“Shoot, love,” I told him, although my heart had started racing because Aaron seemed nervous.   
“Well, my contract… I signed it before I even met you. According to my contract, I’m only on for thirteen weeks, which brings us to the end of July. Originally, I was planning on renewing my contract but I just got a call from Universal. They’re about to start casting for the Wicked movie and they want me to be Fiyero.”  
“Wow. So you’re going to be moving…?” My voice was shaky and I tried to steady it but even if I had been able to conceal my feelings, he would have known. He always did.   
“Well, that’s why I’m telling you. This is a conversation that we need to have together.”  
“First of all, I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe they asked you to be Fiyero.”  
“I know.” The pure joy on his face told me that this was what he wanted.   
“And second of all, I can’t imagine you not taking this opportunity. It’s perfect for you.”  
“I’d be away a lot though. Between press and filming and premieres,” he interrupted me.   
“You would be crazy not to take this. You can’t say no, especially not for me.”  
“Babe…”  
I took his hands in mine as while tears gathered in my eyes. “It’s really not up for discussion. You need to do this. For both of us. Just don’t fall in love with whatever goddess they cast to play Elphaba.” I pulled him towards me and kissed him. “I’m so freaking proud of you. Oh my God. This is amazing.”  
“Thank you,” he whispered, tears in his eyes too. And then we just hung there, our heads supporting each other. Finally we finished up our dinner and threw out our trash. We walked hand in hand back to the apartment.   
That night neither of us could sleep because we were so excited to open for an audience. We lay in bed telling each other stories until I fell asleep during Aaron’s story about the first time he swore (he said “fuck” in kindergarten). I don’t know when Aaron fell asleep but I know when we woke up in the morning it felt like the day was dragging on. Five o’clock couldn’t come fast enough. We got to arrive a little earlier since it was opening night but we still had a whole day of time to kill.   
You would think that I would be sick of the RENT music by now but I wasn’t. I ran a bath and played the album while Aaron got us stuff to make lunch.   
I made sure that when he got back I was wearing one of his white tank tops and a pair of lacy black underwear that was clearly visible. I was laying on my belly on the couch when he walked in and I heard him drop his water bottle. I turned back, biting my lip, but he was already racing towards me. He tucked his head into my neck and attacked me with kisses. He was kneeling beside the couch but it only took one swift motion to bring me onto his lap. He ran his fingers through my damp waves and laid me on the floor after tugging his shirt over my head. While I laid in my lacy black lingerie on the floor, Aaron pulled off his clothes.   
Then he paused, “Are you sure you want this? It’s only been a month.”  
I nodded. “I want you.”  
“If you need to, tell me to stop and I will.”  
I nodded again and took a deep breath. Aaron carried me to his bed and planted kisses all over me.   
I didn’t expect to enjoy it but I did purely for the reason that it was Aaron and I loved him. It wasn’t life-alterring or super hot but it was us. When he was finished, I curled over and let him hold me. “Are you okay, baby?”  
My head said yes for me and I whispered, “I love you. Thank you for loving me.” Aaron spun me towards him. His forehead was sweaty so his hair was bunched up in the front but he looked so handsome.   
“Emory Rosen, you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. I can’t believe that I am lucky enough to have you in my life. I am going to love you every day of my life and even after I die. Do I sound completely crazy?”  
“No because I could say all of those things about you too.”  
Aaron face broke into a smile. “I’m the most beautiful girl you’ve ever met?”   
I cracked a smile and then said, “You knew what I meant!” Then I kissed him playfully and let him hold me some more. There was no better way to spend the day in my mind.   
Around 1:00 we started cooking burgers for lunch. We didn’t have any cheese on them because it was dairy but we enjoyed them anyway. Then we took a nap side by side and hand in hand. We woke up around 3:00 and I read a new book that I had gotten while Aaron watched Sports Center. We were both upset that we were missing the NFL draft the next few nights but our phones were set to give us notifications from the NFL app.   
Football was one of the few things Aaron and I disagreed on. We both loved it but I was a Patriots girl (obviously. I was raised in New Hampshire) but Aaron was, surprisingly, a Cowboys fan. We agreed to disagree. Around four o’clock, I got up to dry the rest of my long waves. I brushed it out and tucked it up into a ponytail. It would all be pinned up tonight under my wig soon enough. I didn’t put any makeup on because that would be done at the theater as well.  
Around 4:45, we left for the theater. We walked because it would be faster than trying to battle the rush hour traffic. Aaron wrapped his arm around me and I felt my heart beat rapidly against my rib cage as we neared the theater. I was getting very nervous. Not because I didn’t know my part because I did but because I was afraid that after everything, the audience still wouldn’t like me. After all, three months ago, I was never even planning to step on any stage ever again.   
When we got to the theater, Aaron and I were each rushed away by our helpers. Natasha helped me get all of my makeup done while Mary pinned all of my hair up so it would fit beneath my wig. My normal hair was covered by a very wavy wig of curls. I loved looking in the mirror after I was transformed into a beautiful young girl who always happened to have a drug problem. Natasha perfectly conveyed this through her work with my face as the canvas. When I was ready, I ran up to Aaron’s dressing room. I knocked and walked right in anyway. His dresser, Cara, was helping him get his costume on over his mic. Cara had actually gone to the same high school so I made a snarky comment about how she shouldn’t get so close to my boyfriend. Thankfully she knew I was joking. When Cara was done, I wrapped my arms around Aaron’s waist. “I’m going to perform on Broadway tonight.”  
“You’ve been performing on Broadway for weeks.” I made a silly face. That’s not what I meant. “Speaking of, did you sign your contract?”  
“I’m going to do that now!” I kissed his cheek and shut the door behind me. I found the person in charge of contracts and signed on for a 36 week run which would take me almost up to the new year. It was up for renegotiation when we reached that point. On my way back down to get dressed, I got Skylar at the fridge. He gave me a big hug and told me break a leg. I also stopped in Tracie’s dressing room. I drank most of my water bottle in there and watched as she got ready. I looked around at all the fan art that she already had plastered on her walls. She noticed me looking and turned to me. “You’re going to have all of this one day too. I promise.”  
“I hope so…” I whispered.


	23. Chapter 23

Soon enough, we were all standing backstage. Without a word, we all grabbed hands and stood together. Some of us prayed and some of us just thought. Lots of us wanted to cry but we didn’t. I saved that for after the show. Skylar and Aaron went out and they set the tone for the whole night. Aaron’s energy especially was a motivator for me. I went out and matched the enthusiasm in each of his movements, just as Farlow had taught me.   
By the time I got to “Out Tonight,” I didn’t need Aaron to give everything I had to my performance. The song in itself was a powerful enough to pull out all of my energy and I stepped onstage and put all of me into it. Every song brought a new burst of adrenaline in me. Even the sad songs, I felt strong and powerful, just softly. I was sweating heavily by the time we reached intermission but the dressers had a towel for me and Natasha fixed my makeup.   
I needed to find Aaron because I was insanely high on pure adrenaline and love for life. When I found him, he was getting his makeup touched up too but I sat next to him until he was done and I rubbed my thumb against his hand, which was seated in mine. When we were alone, I pulled him into me. “I can’t believe I get to do this every night.” Aaron held me and we slow-danced to music on his phone and we made out until they called us to open Act II.   
The audience rejuvenated me every time I set foot on the stage and by the time we finished, I was crying. Aaron asked me to hurry and get out of my costume because there were a few people here that he knew. My face got red. “You didn’t tell me anyone was here!”   
He just shrugged as I skipped off to get out of Mimi’s garb. I took my makeup off leaving me with a fresh face and a head full of curls. I slid on my jeans and tank top before returning to the stage to meet Aaron. The stage was full of people who had connections in the cast. People were taking pictures so it took me long enough to just find Aaron but even longer to reach him without photobombing someone’s picture.   
When I found him, I snuck up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, tugging my head under his armpit and sliding in next to him. My jaw dropped when I saw who he was talking to. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of In The Heights and now Hamilton, was standing in front of me, talking to my boyfriend.   
“Wow, um, hi,” I said, in my starstruckedness. “I’m Emory.”  
“So I hear,” Lin smiled. My eyes widened and I looked up at Aaron, who just replied, promptly, “I may have bragged a little.”  
“You were wonderful, Emory. I’m glad Javi went on for me tonight.”  
“Wow, well, I’m going to try to make it to the Richard Rodgers some time soon to see you before you leave. I listen to the cast album religiously.”  
“It’s true.” Aaron kissed my forehead.  
“So do you!” I squealed.  
“Also true,” he admitted.   
After Lin, Jeremy Jordan walked up with his wife, Ashley, Laura Osnes, and her husband, Nathan. I was even more speechless in the face of these amazing people. I shook hands with all of them as they told Aaron and me how much they loved the performance.   
Actors, directors, family and friends of other performers were coming up to us for at least an hour after we finished. Finally, when it seemed like everyone had gone, Aaron and I grabbed our stuff and went home. We stopped to get celebratory sorbet on the way and when we finally arrived at home, we were both too excited to sleep. Aaron flipped on the tv to see the recaps of the draft and we ate sorbet on the couch. We watched tv and read and played videogames until probably two or three a.m. when Aaron fell asleep on the couch. I finished my chapter and tugged on him until he woke up at least enough to make it to bed.   
He was so tired that I went to my side of the bed and didn’t cuddle until he grabbed me and pulled me towards him. “I love you, Emory.”  
“I love you too, baby.” And then we fell asleep in each other’s arms.   
Not waking up until noon made the day move much more quickly. We woke up and I got in the shower while Aaron made some lunch. He showered too, after lunch, and while I fooled around on social media. I looked at all of the posts that I had been tagged in on Instagram just since last night. People had found pictures of me from Ithaca just to tag me in to say how great I did. I found articles from critics who said that I brought a fresh take to Mimi. Almost all of the feedback was positive, at least what I found.   
Eventually, Aaron joined me and we looked through together. I told him that I needed another nap or I wouldn’t make it through the show. He told me I would make it through the show no matter what but we still crawled into bed together and fell asleep until three.   
At three, I picked out an outfit and went into the bathroom to curl my hair. It would still be easier enough to pin up with curls in it and I wanted to look nice to meet Aaron’s family. I also did my makeup, which I would have to take off when we got to the theater.   
I finished getting ready and I walked into the bedroom to find Aaron in a nice navy suit. I checked the time and noticed that we had plenty of time. I pulled him onto the bed with me and engaged in an impromptu makeout sesh because my man looked damn hot. After a while, I decided to actually get dressed and then we were ready to go. I grabbed the stuff I would need to bring to the theater and put it in the back of Aaron’s car. We took the car so we didn’t have to bring anything except for my purse and his wallet into the restaurant for dinner.   
As we walked into the restaurant, I straightened out my black dress. Aaron grabbed my hand because he could tell that I was nervous. “Six for Tveit,” he smiled at the hostess and I watched her blush with a twinge of jealousy in my stomach. I cursed his sex appeal but I was reassured that Aaron had no plans to break my heart. If he wasn’t serious, I wouldn’t be meeting his parents.   
Aaron’s parents, brother and sister-in-law were already seated at a booth near the back of the quaint Italian restaurant. I smiled as they came into view and rose to meet us. Everyone hugged Aaron and shook my hand, except for his mom, Posie. She hugged me and it wasn’t weird at all. Aaron and I sat and he placed him hand on my thigh to calm me. I held it as we ordered and then launched into a conversation.  
They asked normal questions about Ithaca, what I had been studying, how I liked the city, etc. Aaron had already told them about how we met and either they didn’t know about the age gap or they didn’t care because it was not the topic of any of our dinner time conversations. I stayed away from the topic of Wicked because I didn’t know if Aaron had told them yet.   
When our dinner came, I was sad that we had to pause the conversation to eat. By the time we finished eating, it was time for Aaron and I to get to the theater. The Tveits wouldn’t let us pay for our meal and I thanked them profusely. Then I pulled his parents aside personally while Aaron was talking to Jon to thank them for Aaron.  
“Your son is the most amazing man I’ve ever met. Thank you for him. He’s been a blessing, especially recently.”  
Posie took my hand in hers, kissed it, and said, “No, thank you. He never stops talking about you and how lucky he is to have you. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”  
I hugged everyone and so did Aaron and with that, we were off. We sang in the car to warmup our voices and I hugged Aaron close before we parted ways to get ready.   
“Thank you, love. Tonight was amazing and we haven’t even been onstage yet.” I kissed him like I meant it and then we went off to our respective dressing rooms. I had a little scrubbing to do before Natasha came in to apply my makeup so I went to work trying to get my personal makeup off before she came in.   
Eventually the girls arrived and got me all dolled up. We listened to Hamilton in the dressing room and rocked out until the last possible minute. I checked on Aaron and grabbed more water. And then we were ready to go onstage.   
The second performance went even better than the first. I learned that I did everything better when I knew I had to impress someone in the audience; however, I couldn’t help but wonder what Aaron’s family was thinking of me now that they had seen me partially clothed and singing the songs that I do onstage. But then, I guess they raised an actor so they know what it’s like to portray someone completely unlike you.   
We brought the Tveits backstage after the show and showed them around. They seemed completely in awe of everything that the performance was and I was so proud of both Aaron and me for the show we put on tonight.   
Eventually we said goodnight and made plans for breakfast tomorrow before they would have to leave. As we were saying goodbye, I noticed Aaron pull his mom aside and purposefully turn away from me. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about but I got pulled into a conversation about football with Stan and Jon.   
When Aaron returned, we said our final goodbyes, until the morning, and split up. Aaron leaned over and gave me a piggy-back ride out to the car. I giggled the whole way and planted kisses on his neck and shoulders. I noticed the Tveits on the other side of the parking lot going to there car and I waved and only began giggling more as Aaron hopped up and down with me on his back. He lowered me down and opened the car door for me. I pulled him in for a kiss before letting him go to the driver’s side so he could take us home. Man, I loved my life.


	24. Chapter 24

Friday night was filled with much of the same activities as Thursday night but a lot more cuddling. Instead of reading, I put my book away and curled into Aaron, watching tv with him. He watched re-runs of Game of Thrones and eventually I fell asleep.   
I woke up briefly when he picked me up and carried me to bed. He whispered, “Goodnight, angel,” and tucked me under the covers. I listened as he set an alarm for the next morning and then we both passed out.   
We woke up at 7 to meet the Tveits at eight. We were getting donuts from this amazing little shop and then we were taking them for a walk through Central Park, one of Aaron and I’s favorite things to do.   
I got dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. I still wanted to look presentable. As I pulled on my shirt, Aaron told me he had just received a text from his brother who apparently had to return home earlier than expected. It would just be us and his parents now. I washed my face but didn’t put on any makeup. It was breakfast and if they didn’t like me without makeup, we had bigger issues. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and slid a headband on. I brushed my teeth and Aaron did as well and then we were off.   
When we met the Tveits at the donut place, there was something odd in the air. The way that Posie and Stan spoke was slightly off. “Oh,” Posie had said, overdramatically. “Jon is SO sorry he couldn’t be here.” I raised an eyebrow at Aaron but he just brushed me off.   
After we got our donuts, we began our walk through Central Park. Aaron and I walked holding hands and Stan and Posie mirrored us. We kept walking until we reached Belvedere Castle. I threw out our wrappers for the donuts and Aaron pulled me close. He asked Stan and Posie to take a picture of us in front of the castle but he told me that he needed me to close my eyes for a second first. I wrapped my hands around my eyes so I couldn’t see anything although I was getting nervous.   
When Aaron told me I could open my eyes, I did and I was automatically glad that I hadn’t worn any makeup because tears filled my eyes immediately. My hands flew to my face as I gasped at the scene before me.   
Aaron was down on one knee with a box in his hand. I swallowed hard and tried to wipe the tears away as I chuckled a little. Aaron had a big smile on his face, one strong enough to put a smile on my face. I still cried as he began talking. He took my hands from my face and into his own and melted me.  
“Emory, I have known from the minute I met you that you were going to be my wife. That day when I knocked you on your ass and you looked up at me and I just knew. I knew before you told me you went to that powder-puff football game. I knew before we sang in the car. I knew before you moved in with me. And now, I know more than ever. You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. You have learned how to have confidence in yourself. I think my parents can tell you that I’ve never been one to rush into anything but I went home that night after I met you and I called Jon and I said, “I think I just met the girl I’m going to marry,” and he said, “Well, does she know?” and I asked, “Does she know what?” Jon just laughed at me and told me that I should probably let you know that I was going to marry you. And I told him, “No!” I couldn’t do that. I had just met you. I didn’t even know you that well. And he asked me how I knew that I was going to marry you if I barely knew you and I sighed. I just knew. Please, Em. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Tell me you’ll marry me. Tell me that you’ll be my wife.”  
I nodded. “Yes. Yes. A million times yes.” He stood and I wrapped my arms around him, kissing him all over his face. He picked me up and spun me around like a real fairytale. When he put me down, he grabbed my hand and I finally got to look at the ring. It was a three stone round cut ring on a silver band. There were smaller jewels along the band on either side of the three central diamonds. I cried a lot more as he slid the ring onto my finger. I examined it some more and hugged Posie and Stan, who got the entire proposal on video for us.   
Posie held my hand in hers and looked at the ring. She looked up at me and whispered, “My mother’s ring has never looked more beautiful,” with tear-filled eyes. That sent me into another fit of tears. “Aaron always called dibs on this ring. Jon knew that he needed to get his own ring when he proposed because Aaron would have fought him tooth and nail for this one. I’m glad he did. It fits you perfectly, size-wise and personality-wise.” We all embraced again and then Aaron and I walked his parents back to their car. There were still tears in my eyes as we waved goodbye and then all the way back to our apartment. When we got inside, I pulled Aaron to me and kissed him hard. He hoisted me onto the counter top. He kissed me hard but I reminded him breathlessly that if he was going to leave his mark it had to be covered by my costume, which didn’t leave much room for him to work. He picked me up again and carried me to bed.  
It gets better every time. I think less and less of Derek. Who knows? Maybe it got better because of the ring on my finger. Because now it definitely wasn’t the same.   
Once I realized it was past noon, I dragged Aaron out of bed and told him we had to clean the apartment. Dani and Jacob would be staying in my old room while they were here so they didn’t have to pay for a hotel room in the city.   
I cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed the floors while Aaron did cleaned the sheets. Ours and theirs. He also went out to the grocery store so they would have something to eat when they got here which should be around 3.   
When Dani and Jacob arrived at three, it was a flurry of excitement. I couldn’t even get a hug in before she noticed the ring on my finger. Dani screamed so loud I thought that the neighbors would call 911. She grabbed my hand and kept squealing until we sat her down on the couch and showed her the video.  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
I shrugged. “It just happened this morning!”  
“You know what, Emory? If anyone was going to marry a Broadway actor, I’m glad it was you,” Jacob told me and I just laughed.   
“Wow. Two months.”  
“Oh, shut up. Did you really think that I would let him leave once we started dating? I’ve wanted to marry him since I was nineteen years old.” We all laughed and caught up until Aaron and I left to go to the theater.   
I almost left my ring at home because I was so nervous about something happening to it while I was onstage but Aaron told me to keep it on. Nothing would happen and he wanted me to be able to show everyone.   
“So we’re telling everyone? Tonight?”  
“I think we go with the same plan that we had when we told everyone we were dating. We just let them figure it out for themselves. Seemed to work well last time.” He kissed my forehead and for the third night in a row, we were whisked away to get ready.   
\----------  
The show went amazing again and I became used to the feeling of pride that came with the closing of each show. We met Dani and Jacob and went to this little karaoke bar down the street. I kept my glass filled with a Shirley Temple all night and was the designated driver.   
A few people noticed my ring but I wasn’t wearing it for most of the night. When we walked out the stage door, I made sure to keep my left hand in my pocket. There were rumors flying around about Aaron and I already and they would escalate a lot if I was seen with an engagement ring on my finger. We decided that after the wedding, we would make one big post on social media and then keep our life private for the most part.   
Our life got a lot less private in the next few months anyway.


	25. Chapter 25

Aaron and I breezed through the next few weeks in a state of bliss. He booked a concert at Irving Plaza for June and we both took that night off from work. We performed seven times a week and made sure we got the same day off. I subscribed to at least ten bridal magazines and we spent each night entangled in each other on the couch, flipping through pages and making a list of ideas.   
We had sex a couple of times a week until I was just purely in love. I knew I was enjoying it the way it was meant to be enjoyed and Derek almost never crossed my mind. I wondered how Kourt was doing and how far along she was.   
At the end of May, Aaron and I took the weekend off for Memorial Day. We rented a small house in Lake Placid and we drove upstate. We got settled in and put our bags in our new room. Aaron offered to the grocery store but I wouldn’t let him. “No!” I squealed and I realized how loud it had come out. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I have some other stuff to grab anyway. It’s fine. I’ll be back soon.” I kissed him on the cheek and I could see his confusion even as I turned away from him. I had a valid reason. No matter how the results turned out I would be able to tell him later and he would forgive me. I was sure he would.  
I got all of the stuff we would need for that night and for breakfast. We could go back to the store tomorrow together to decide what we wanted for the rest of the weekend. My heart beat faster as I neared the aisle where I needed to get the last item on my list.   
How would I even know what to get? I had never bought a pregnancy test before. I just grabbed the first one I saw. Six minutes. I would pee on a stick and know in six minutes. That meant I needed ten minutes alone when I got home. And I needed to know right away.   
Let’s just say I knew before I even got home. You know how Aaron knew we were going to get married and he just knew. Well, I was driving back to him and I was flipping through radio stations and “In My Daughter’s Eyes” came on and I knew. I was pregnant and I was having a little girl. I stuffed the pregnancy test in my purse, helped Aaron bring the groceries in, and then I told him that I was going to go take a shower. He kissed my cheek and I snuck upstairs. I peed and then I left the stick on a piece of toilet paper on the counter. I ran the shower and hopped in, thinking about the future.   
Of course, Aaron and I had talked about kids but we hadn’t imagined having one so soon. I still had til the end of the year with RENT and I would be visibly showing before then. My timer went off on my phone telling me that six minutes was up. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me. I got out of the shower and took a deep breath. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I wasn’t pregnant. I turned off my alarm without looking at the test. I closed my eyes and picked it up. When my eyes opened and I learned I was pregnant, I collapsed with joy on the ground. I had a little one inside me. Aaron was going to be such a great dad.   
“Baby! Come here! I need you,” I called to him. He rushed in, asking if everything was okay until he saw the pregnancy test in my hands.  
“Is that-- Are we-- Babe?”   
Through my tears, I just nodded and Aaron ran to me. He held me close to him and I sobbed tears of pure happiness into his chest. Finally, I muttered, “We’re having a baby.”  
When I looked up, Aaron was crying too and he just kissed me all over. Our wet faces just got more wet with kisses and salty tears and we stayed there on the floor for probably an hour. He laid me down and kissed my stomach. “I can’t wait to meet you,” he whispered, bringing even more tears to my eyes.   
We didn’t get to eating dinner for a while but that’s okay. We were just talking about our little one and making plans. I would call the doctor’s office when we got back to the city to confirm how far along I was. I would go to talk to Matt about my contract because Aaron said that most actresses perform until they start showing and I would definitely be showing before December. Unfortunately, Mimi’s costumes were quite revealing and as soon as I had even a little bit of a belly, it would show in my costumes. Aaron and I decided that since we had to tell the cast, we would tell his parents on the way home when we stopped by for lunch, which we were already planning to do.   
Aaron cooked some chicken on the grill for us for dinner while I cut up some veggies for salad. When he came in, I was singing the song I had heard on the radio. He came up behind me and started swaying with me as I sang. When I finished, he whispered in my ear, “It’s a girl, isn’t it?”   
I took a deep breath. “I think so.” I paused. “Our little one is going to be perfect no matter what but I just think that it’s a little baby girl and part of me really hopes so because you will spoil her to no end and she’ll be a little daddy’s girl and then the next one can be mine.”  
He just laughed and said, “I think all of our kids will be both of ours.” He pulled me towards him and we slow-danced to imaginary music. “They’ll just come to each of us for different things.” Then Aaron started singing so we didn’t have to imagine the music. His voice softly carried the notes of “Young Wild Girls” by Bruno Mars and when he was finished, we sat down to dinner.   
“Next year at this time, we’ll have a little one sitting down to eat with us,” I smiled. “Or not. The baby might be in bed.”  
“Well, if the baby’s in bed, you know what that means,” Aaron smirked, rubbing his foot up and down my leg but then we both looked at each other and grinned. “Sleep,” we said in unison. We laughed and eventually went to bed.   
The rest of the weekend was semi-uneventful. We did a lot of reading. We tried swimming and kayaking and even paddle-boarding but what we loved to do most was just stay in bed and cuddle. I know, not a very eventful vacation but hey, we were enjoying ourselves.   
When Monday came, we packed up and completed most of the drive, stopping about an hour away from the city to eat lunch with Aaron’s parents. Posie had a chicken and roasting potatoes in the oven when we arrived. Before we stepped inside, Aaron had whispered in my ear that we should tell them after lunch so that if they weren’t excited, we could just leave but I shook my head and laughed but agreed.  
We walked in and everyone gave each other big hugs. We caught up quickly. Stan and Posie asked us how the show was and when my contracts was up since Aaron would be away filming. We gave each other looks but we were both thinking the same thing. This was the perfect time to tell them.   
“Actually…” I started. “My contract isn’t up until the end of December but I might have my last performance before then.” Posie got a concerned look on her face and Stan just urged me to continue talking. “Well, love. Do you want to tell them? They’re your parents.”  
He just smiled at me and grabbed my hand like they always do in the movies when they’re telling someone something important or learning something important. With my hand in his own, Aaron whispered, “It’ll be pretty hard for her to fit into her costumes once our little one starts growing in Em’s belly.”  
Posie had a look on her face that I couldn’t quite decipher. They both paused for a minute and didn’t say anything. My heart was racing and Aaron’s hand squeezed mine. Stan and Posie looked at each other and smiles spread on their faces. “Congratulations!” They sprung up quickly and wrapped us in more hugs just as a timer went off for our lunch food.   
There was an air of joy around the lunch table. I don’t know if they were pleased with how quickly this was coming but I do think that they were thrilled that they were going to be grandparents. Even though I was fairly young, Aaron was at the right age to be a father. Then again, I was doing lots of things fairly young and my age didn’t make me any less capable of being a mother.


End file.
